DOH: At least one COVID-19 virus variant present in all cities in Metro Manila

(Eagle News) — At least one coronavirus variant is present in all Metro Manila cities.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said some cities have either the United Kingdom variant or the South Africa variant.

Other cities have both.

She, however, did not specify which cities had a specific variant and which had both.

The country’s first UK COVID-19 variant case, however, was a Quezon City resident who arrived from a brief trip to Dubai.

The DOH earlier said it detected 52 more South African variant cases, 41 of which were from Metro Manila.

Paranaque also imposed longer curfew hours after three South African variants were detected there.

The Philippines is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases, with the Octa research group predicting 11,000 COVID-19 cases in a day if the surge continues unabated.