DOH: Two more transmissible COVID-19 variants already present in Metro Manila cities
MANILA, Philippines — The more transmissible COVID-19 variants that originated in the United Kingdom and South Africa are already present in all Metro Manila cities, the Department of Health said Monday.
“We have detected in all of the cities either the UK variant or the South African variant. Also in other cities, there are both the UK variant and the South African variant,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.
“So we can say the variants are here and yes, it has contributed to the increase in number of cases,” she added.
But Vergeire maintained that the non-compliance with public health protocols is still the “root cause” of the fresh surge in infections.
The UK (B1.1.7) and the South African (B.1.351) are classified as variants of concern. They have the N501Y mutation, which is associated with increased transmissibility.
B.1.351 also carries the E484K mutation, which may help the virus evade some antibodies, possibly affecting vaccine efficacy.
Despite the development, it is still up to the World Health Organization to declare whether there is already a community transmission of COVID-19 variants in the country, the health official said.
“We need to confer with the WHO if indeed community transmission of these variants is present already,” Vergeire said.
The DOH has so far detected 223 cases of B.1.1.7, 152 cases of B.1.351, one case of P.1 (Brazil) and 104 cases of P.3 or the coronavirus variant first reported in the Philippines. The P.3 variant carries both the N501Y and E484K mutations but the DOH said it is still not considered a variant of concern.
The Philippines is battling a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, which health authorities attribute to vaccine optimism that led to decreased compliance in health measures and the circulation of more infectious COVID-19 variants.
The number of new COVID-19 cases has surpassed 7,000 for three straight days—the highest since the start of the pandemic—bringing the country’s caseload to over 663,000.
To stem the spread of the virus, the government banned mass gatherings and cross-border travel in Metro Manila, and neighboring provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
A thread on new variants of SARS-CoV-2 reported in the Philippines.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) rallies all local government units (LGUs) "to be more vigilant and reinforce measures against COVID-19 to impede the projected increase in cases until the end of the year."
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos says: “Kami po ay nananawagan sa ating LGUs na bantayang mabuti ang mga kaso ng COVID sa kanilang nasasakupan. We are still in a pandemic and we count on our local officials to lead this war, especially in the coming months where alarming numbers of COVID-19 cases are projected.
He calls on LGUs "to fortify their measures against COVID-19, following the DOH’s recent projection of increase in COVID-19 cases in NCR by October, which can even extend to other parts of the country until the end of the year."
The Department of Health announces the detection of 12 new local cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19, bringing the total to 47. Six from Central Luzon, three from Metro Manila, two from Calabarzon and one from Bicol Region.
All Delta cases have been tagged as recovered, but their outcomes are being validated by our regional and local health offices. — Christian Deiparine
The Department of Health says it has confirmed 16 cases of the Delta variant in the Philippines. Of those case, 11 are considered local transmissions.
Another nine UK variant cases of COVID19 were detected in Kalinga prompting the Kalinga Provincial Health Office to reiterate to the public to maintain vigilance and strictly compliance to health protocols.
According to the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit of the Center for Health Development Cordillera, the newly identified cases were from the five towns, one each from Rizal, Pasil, Tanudan and Lubuagan. Four cases meanwhile were detected in Kalinga's capital, Tabuk City.
Kalinga has logged a total of 19 UK variant cases since it got into the country last January 2021. — The STAR/Artemio Dumlao
The Department of Health announces new cases of the following variants detected in the Philippines:
- 1 B.1.617.2 (Indian) variant,
- 104 B.1.1.7 (UK) variant
- 137 B.1.351 (South Africa) variant,
- 4 P.3 variant
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