By Pearl Gumapos
Malacañang on Monday (Aug. 16) said testing is still a priority amid rising cases of COVID-19.
“We give a priority to testing dahil ‘yan ang ating unang sandata. Kinakailangan malaman natin kung sino ‘yung dapat i-isolate. We are increasing our testing beyond 55,000. Gumagamit na rin po tayo ng antigen,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Malacañang public briefing.
“Hindi natin pinapabayaan ‘yan. We have always recognized that testing is very crucial in the fight against COVID-19,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to experts, undergoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) will help fight against COVID-19.
“’Yung mga ginagawa natin ngayon, these are the things that work. We need to do it correctly and consistently,” Department of Health (DOH) Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said in the same public briefing.
“Itong ginagawa natin na ECQ at ang mga dagdag na response na ginagawa natin ay posibleng hindi pa po natin mararamdaman [‘yung epekto],” she said, stating that it will take some time to see the full effects of the ECQ.
Philippine Genome Center (PGC) executive director Dr. Cynthia Saloma said that there is already one case of Lambda variant in the country and that according to a sampling that was sequenced, the Delta variant is now a predominant variant.
“’Yung Lambda, ito ay tinatawag na variant of interest. Mukhang meron siyang mga mutations na maaaring makaapekto sa efficacy na ating mga vaccines. Pero hindi pa ito proven,” University of the Philippines National Institutes Of Health (UP-NIH) Director Dr. Edsel Salvana said.
“Kailangan lang po nating bantayan. Sa akin, mas nakakatakot pa rin ang Delta at kung anong ginagawa natin sa Delta ay gagana rin yan sa Lambda,” he said
Salvana also reiterated that it would be difficult to see the current situation as there is delay.
“It’s very difficult to see what’s happening in real time kasi meron talaga ‘yang delay. It’s about 14 days ‘yung delay ng ating mga interventions, kaya ang nakikita natin ay mga infections na nangyari two weeks ago,” he said.
“Let’s see what happens over the next week or so, and continue to encourage people to get vaccinated kasi ito po talaga ang magiging long-term solution sa problema na ito,” he added. -rir
