MANILA — The Department of Health on Tuesday said there are no indications requiring the reimposition of border restrictions amid the detection of 81 cases of the XBB omicron subvariant and 190 cases of the XBC variant.

"The lifecycle of a virus, kasama na diyan ang mutations and new variants. Handa ang sistema kung tataas ang mga kaso. Bagama't may mga bagong variants, nakikita natin that we are managing hospital admissions. Hindi nao-overwhelm ang mga ospital," DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

• Philippines detects first cases of XBB subvariant, XBC variant

The health official emphasized that the country has established measures and protocols that would mitigate a surge in cases, so long as the public is responsible in using the available tools to avoid the illness.

"Hindi puwedeng tayo ay nagbubukas-nagsasara ... ng borders ngayong panahon ng at sitwasyon natin ngayon two years going through this pandemic. Kailangan we should all live with the virus at marunong tayo mag-adopt kung ano man ang sitwasyon," Vergeire said.

With the detection of XBB subvariant and XBC variant cases in the country, the DOH chief admits that they expect infections to once again rise.

This is why despite COVID-19 trends continuing to be at manageable levels, Vergeire stressed that the public should not let their guard down.

Experts say that there is still no indication that the XBB variant causes severe disease.

No deaths have been reported from the 81 patients that were struck by the XBB subvariant.

Five deaths, on the other hand, were logged among the 193 cases that were infected by the XBC variant.

The XBC variant is said to be a recombinant of the BA.2 omicron sublineage and the virulent delta variant that caused a wave of infections in 2021.

Despite the XBC-linked deaths in the country, global agencies like the World Health Organization and European Centers for Disease Control have yet to determine the risk that the variant poses.

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