By Alec Go
The Department of Health (DOH) said minimum public health standards must be complied with regardless of COVID-19 variants and their transmission level in the country.
Speaking at the May 29 Laging Handa public briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there is no official confirmation yet from the World Health Organization (WHO) if variants from the United Kingdom and South Africa have community transmission in the Philippines.
“Kahit na ano pang level ng community transmission, kahit ano pang variant ang dumating dito sa ating bansa, iyon naman pa rin po ang ating gagawin,” she said.
“We just need to intensify our compliance with the minimum health protocol, at kung turn na nating magpabakuna, magpabakuna na tayo,” she added.
The health official said they have not yet seen a “direct correlation” between variants and increase in COVID-related deaths, but continued that there are still limitations in the country’s biosurveillance efforts.
“Katulad nitong B1.1.7 itong UK variant sa ating bansa, only about 2% from these detected individuals ang namatay dahil po dito sa COVID-19. Dito po sa South African variant ganoon din po, mga 2.1%,” she said.
In terms of health protocol violations as transmission cause, the DOH has tapped the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to “better enforce” health protocols, noting that “visibility in enforcement” is a top factor for compliance.
Meanwhile, she said it cannot yet be concluded whether there is local transmission of a variant that originated in India, since only 12 were infected, majority of whom have already recovered. -rir
