THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said the two-week temporary ban on travelers from India also covers Filipinos living there amid the deadly resurgence of the COVID-19 in the South Asian country.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, DOH spokesperson, said the ban on travelers, including Filipinos, was imposed to prevent the entry of B.1.617, the new coronavirus variant described as a “double mutant” due to its mutations, which is said to contributing to the spike in cases in India.

“Mag-iingat tayo kasi nakikita na natin ‘yung nangyayari sa kanila at ayaw na natin na magkaroon pa ng enabler ang ibang variants na pumasok dito sa ating bansa para makapag-cause pa ng further transmission ng sakit,” she said.

The travel ban takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on April 29 and ends on May 14. Travelers who are already in transit and those who will arrive in the Philippines before Thursday are exempted.

Also prohibited from entering the country are those who have travel to India over the 14 days.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) was also directed to ensure that airlines will not allow passengers from entering the Philippines unless part of repatriation efforts by the government.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is now preparing for the implementation of restrictions for persons traveling from India.

India’s coronavirus death toll neared the bleak milestone of 200,000 with another 2,771 fatalities reported on Tuesday, while its armed forces pledged urgent medical aid to help battle the staggering spike in infections.

Over the past 24 hours, India recorded 323,144 new cases, slightly below a worldwide peak of 352,991 reached on Monday, with overrun hospitals turning away patients due to a shortage of beds and oxygen supplies.

Two Filipinos have died in India due to COVID-19.

The DOH also called on the public to continue adhering to public health protocols to protect themselves from the virus.

The Philippines has so far detected 659 B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom) variant cases, 695 B.1.351 (South Africa) variant cases, 2 P.1 (Brazil) variant cases, and 148 cases of the P.3 variant first detected in Central Visayas.

BI not expecting passengers from India
BI officers are now gearing up in preparation for the imposed travel restrictions for travelers coming from India.

A resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) bars the entry of travelers coming from India or those with a travel history to India within the last 14 days preceding arrival beginning April 29 until May 14.

The ban has been imposed following the detection and spread of a new covid variant first detected in India. The IATF deems that this proactive restriction must be put in place to slow down the surge in Covid-19 cases, stop further spread of variants, and allow the health system to prepare, essentially protecting more lives.

BI Port Operations Division Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong clarified that the travel ban is not ‘nationality-specific’ and applies to any traveler coming from the region.

“We are conducting 100% passport inspection to determine the travel history of an arriving person. If we see that the traveler has been to India within the last 14 days, then he will be excluded and boarded on the next available flight back to his port of origin,” he said.

Capulong added that they are not expecting incoming passengers from India as the IATF resolution clearly stated that airlines are directed not to allow the boarding of passengers pursuant to travel restrictions.

“Passengers already in transit who will arrive before April 29 may be allowed, but will be referred to the appropriate agencies for stricter quarantine and testing protocols, to be subjected to an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period,” Capulong explained.

In a related development, the World Health Organization said the variant of COVID-19 feared to be contributing to a surge in coronavirus cases in India has been found in over a dozen countries.

The UN health agency said the B.1.617 variant of COVID-19 first found in India had as of Tuesday been detected in over 1,200 sequences uploaded to the GISAID open-access database “from at least 17 countries.”

“Most sequences were uploaded from India, the United Kingdom, USA and Singapore,” the WHO said.

The WHO recently listed B.1.617 — which counts several sub-lineages with slightly different mutations and characteristics — as a “variant of interest.”

But so far it has stopped short of declaring it a “variant of concern,” a label that indicates that it is more dangerous that the original version of the virus by for instance being more transmissible, deadly or able to dodge vaccine protections.

However, the WHO acknowledged that its preliminary modelling based on sequences submitted to GISAID indicates that B.1.617 has a higher growth rate than other circulating variants in India, suggesting potential increased transmissibility.

It stressed that other variants circulating at the same time were also showing increased transmissibility, and that the combination “may be playing a role in the current resurgence in this country.”

But the WHO also added that “other drivers” could be contributing to the surge, including lax adherence to public health measures as well as mass gatherings, hence further investigation is needed to understand the relative contribution of these factors.

The UN agency also stressed that “further robust studies” into the characteristics of B.1.617 and other variants, including impacts on transmissibility, severity and the risk of reinfection, were “urgently needed.”

India has 18M COVID infections, death toll passes 200,000

India’s coronavirus death toll passed 200,000 on Wednesday with more than 3,000 fatalities reported in 24 hours for the first time, official data showed.

A total of 201,187 people have now died, 3,293 of them in the past day, according to health ministry data, although many experts suspect that the true toll is higher.

India has now reported 18 million infections, an increase of 360,000 in 24 hours, which is a new world record. This month alone the country has added almost six million new cases.

The explosion in cases, blamed in part on a new virus variant as well as mass political and religious events, has overwhelmed hospitals with dire shortages of beds, drugs and oxygen.

The crisis is particularly severe in New Delhi, with people dying outside packed hospitals where three people are often forced to share beds. Clinics have been running out of oxygen.

India has so far administered 150 million vaccine shots and from Saturday the programmed will be expanded to include all adults, meaning 600 million more people will be eligible.

However, many states are warning that they have insufficient vaccine stocks and experts are calling on the government to priorities vulnerable groups and badly hit areas. By LEE ANN DUCUSIN & ITCHIE G. CABAYAN. with Philippine News Agency