PGC to know in a matter of days if UK virus variant already in PHL
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(Eagle News) — The Department of Health (DOH) said that the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) is expected to complete in the next seven days the genome sequencing of swab samples taken from travelers who had tested positive for COVID-19 recently, as well as other positive cases in the past two months.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the PGC had alread started the process of sequencing.
“Hopefully, by Wednesday or Thursday this week, we can get the results already of these passengers who had been swabbed,” she said in a press briefing on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.
She said that “parallel swabbing” was done on all passengers coming from the countries with the reported UK COVID-19 variant who had previously entered the country.
This means that one swab sample was for the RT-PCR testing, while the other swab sample is to be sent to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) if the swab sample would turn out to be positive in the RT-PCR tests.
“Ang ginagawa natin sa ngayon lahat ng dumating from affected countries that we have already identified are being swabbed. They get to be swabbed dalawa (twice). Parallel swabbing tayo,” she explained.
“Yung isa para doon sa swab mismo, sa RT-PCR. Yung isa for genome sequcning sa Philippine Genome Center. Ang ipapadala lang natin sa genome center would be those positive samples, yung mga nag-positive sa RT PCR,” she said.
Vergeire said that swab samples from existing patients from November and December last year were also taken for sending to the PGC.
This is to check if the new COVID-19 virus variant is already present in the local community.
Vergeire said that swab samples from hospital patients were taken, including those where clustering of cases had been noted.
“Para makita natin kung dito talaga existing na sa November and December samples ay may variant na sa ating bansa,” she said.
(Eagle News Service)
