DOH: Five arrivals from India test positive for COVID-19
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Thursday said five passengers with a travel history to India have tested positive for COVID-19.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a previous interview on Wednesday said six passengers were infected with the novel coronavirus.
In a release on Thursday, DOH citing data from the Bureau of Quarantine, said 149 passengers with travel history to India arrived in the country from April 1 to 30, before the two-week travel ban was enforced.
Of these, 129 are returning Filipinos while 20 are foreign nationals. “All of these passengers were quarantined upon arrival and tested on the 6th or 7th day,” the DOH added.
Five of them tested positive on RT-PCR test while 137 tested negative. Of those who were infected with the novel coronavirus, one is still in isolation while disposition of the four is currently being verified, said DOH.
“Samples from these positive cases are currently being determined if they are adequate for sequencing. The test results of the [seven] remaining travelers are currently being verified,” it added.
The Philippine government banned travelers from India from entering the country until May 14. Beginning May 7, passengers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka or those who have been to these countries in the last 14 days will also be barred from entering the country.
The travel restrictions are imposed over the threat posed by the B.1.617 variant, which was first detected in India.
Coronavirus variants
As of May 3, the Philippines so far reported 1,075 cases with the B.1351 variant, (first detected in South Africa), 948 cases of B.1.1.7 variant (first detected in United Kingdom), 157 cases with P.3 variant (first detected in the Philippines) and two cases of the P.1 (first detected in Brazil).
READ: 678 new cases of coronavirus variants detected in Philippines
Variants first detected in UK, South Africa and Brazil are deemed variants of concern, while the P.3 and B.1.617 are variants under investigation.
The DOH explained that the variant of concerns and variants under investigation are detected in the country due to increased genomic biosurveillance activities. It added that the department is conducting purposive sampling to ensure
“Hence, there is disproportionately higher number of samples being sequenced from areas with reported clustering, increased severe and critical cases, and a bigger presence of returning overseas Filipinos,” it also said.
On Wednesday, the Philippines’ total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections reached 1,073,555 with 62,713 active cases. — Kristine Joy Patag
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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