Vunerable population urged to wear face masks despite ‘mild’ JN.1 COVID-19 subvariant

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 25) — People who belong to the vulnerable population should still wear face masks even if there is no evidence showing that the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant JN.1 causes a more severe disease, an expert said Monday.

In an interview, infectious diseases expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said there is no need for the public to panic since, unlike the Delta variant, the newly detected COVID-19 subvariant in the country is a “mild type” of coronavirus.

“In terms of the concern, yes, we have to monitor the cases,” Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Unit in San Lazaro Hospital, told CNN Philippines. “But, it’s (JN.1) not expected to form a more severe form of COVID-19.”

On Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) said it detected 18 cases of JN.1, noting that all of these cases had already recovered.

CNN International reported that the new subvariant is the leading cause of COVID-19 infections in the United States at 44.2% of all cases.

The vulnerable population includes the elderly, the immunocompromised, and those with comorbidities.

Solante said wearing face masks in public spaces will give them additional protection as there is no guarantee that the vaccines will work against the Omicron subvariant.

For health expert Dr. Tony Leachon, it is better to make the wearing of face masks mandatory as COVID-19 cases increased in the past week.

The DOH logged 2,725 new COVID-19 cases from Dec. 12 to 18, a 50% increase from the recorded cases in the previous week.

READ: New COVID-19 cases in PH up 50% on Dec. 12-18