Marcos advised: Avoid public places in SG

HEALTH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa Jr. yesterday advised President Marcos Jr. and his delegation to exercise public health precautions, including avoiding crowds, when they visit Singapore later this month amid a reported spike in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the said country.

Marcos is set to participate in the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue 2024 in Singapore in late May.

Herbosa, in an interview after a sectoral meeting in Malacañang, said the President’s security team should make sure that he is not exposed to any threat in case Marcos decides to go to crowded public places.

“Public health precautions, you know. To avoid crowds. Of course, the President naman doesn’t go to crowded and public places because of the security (Anyway, the President does not go to crowded and public places because of security issues),” Herbosa said.

Herbosa said the Philippines is closely monitoring the situation in Singapore amid the reported rise in COVID cases and the presence of the new variants KP.2 and KP.3 — collectively nicknamed by scientists as “FLiRT.” The new variants are reportedly mutations of the JN.1 variant.

He said that while there are no reported cases of FLiRT in the Philippines yet, he said there is a possibility that it has already entered the country.

He said a private hospital, which he refused to name, had reported that some of its medical workers have recently tested positive of COVID-19. He also said that the health department is monitoring a spike in influenza-like illnesses.

Herbosa assured the public that the FLiRT variant “is not serious” and is only classified as a “variant under monitoring” but noted that it spreads fast.

“Sa Philippines, we don’t have enough samples kasi we need a number of samples to do the genetic testing… Pag dumating ‘yung cases, then, we will ask our Philippine Genome Center to again look at what variant is spreading (In the Philippines, we don’t have enough samples, we need a number of samples to do the genetic testing… once cases are recorded, we will ask the Philippine Genome Center to again look at what variant is spreading),” he said.

Herbosa urged Filipinos to practice proper