COVID-19 XBB subvariant entry to PH possible amid opened borders

MANILA, Philippines — The “highly immune-evasive” XBB Omicron subvariant could possibly enter the Philippines amid the country’s opened borders, an infectious disease expert warned Friday.

“There is a possibility that it can enter the Philippines because our borders are open now and we have flights to Singapore everyday,” Dr. Rontgene Solante, head of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine unit at the San Lazaro Hospital, said over ABS-CBN News Channel.

“It’s just a matter of really monitoring this,” Solante added.

Singapore is experiencing a surge of cases driven by the XBB subvariant, reports said. It is a recombinant of BJ.1 (BA.2.10.1 sublineage) and BM.1.1.1 (BA.2.75 sublineage).