The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) have recorded 6 cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) South African variant in the Philippines. This was confirmed by the results of the 8th batch of the 350 samples which underwent genome sequencing.
According to DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, 3 are local cases, 2 are returning overseas Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, and 1 is still being verified.
The 3 local cases are residents of Pasay City where a 61-year-old female and a 39-year-old male are currently recovering while a 40-year-old male has already recovered.
Experts have stated that the South African variant has a high transmission rate. There is also a big possibility of it contributing to the increase of COVID-19 cases in the country.
However, USec. Vergeire pointed out that the increased number of cases can still be pinpointed on the public’s lack of compliance with the minimum health standards.
USec. Vergeire disclosed that an extensive review of the said variant must be conducted to know its implications on the COVID-19 vaccines especially now that the country is just starting its vaccine rollout with the Sinovac vaccine.
Aside from the South African variant, the department has also detected additional 30 UK variant cases totaling the number of the COVID-19 UK variant cases in the Philippines to 87. – Report from Mark Fetalco
