No local Delta variant case, DOH assures, as strict border controls were able to check cases’ entry
(Eagle News) — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the Lambda COVID-19 variant has not yet been detected in the country, while the highly infectious Delta variant has been contained in the country and there is no more active case of this variant.
“Iyong Lambda variant, wala, pa ho tayo nito. Hindi pa ho ito natutuklasan ng Philippine Genome Center,” he told President Rodrigo Duterte during the latter’s “Talk to the People” on Tuesday night, July 6.
Duque said that because of the strict border controls in the country, the government was able to control the entry of Delata variant cases. He recommended the continuation of the strict border protocols of 10 day facility-based quarantine, where the traveler would undergo RT-PCR testing on the seventh day, and the rest of the quarantine period would be spent in the local government unit of residence.
“So that way, sir, talagang hindi makakalusot itong mga variants, lalo na itong Delta, because so far wala pa po tayong evidence of a local case of the Delta variant,” he said.
“So by and large, we have been effective in preventing the introduction of Delta variant into households and into communities. So wala pa po tayo, and we hope to keep it that way, Mr. President,” Duque said.
The Department of Health (DOH) said that so far, the most common variant seen in the bio-surveillance or genomic sequencing is the Beta variant (B.1.351) which was previously known as the South African variant.
Duque said that this variant was detected in 21.1 percent of specimen sequence nationally.
The next most common variant is the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) which was found in 18.5 percent of the samples. The Gamma variant (P.1) first detected in Brazil was found in two cases.
But the Lambda variant of interest has not yet entered the country, Duque said.
-Lambda variant could be classified later as variant of concern, says Duque-
The Lambda variant, which is causing concern around the world because of the possibility that it could be even more infectious than other COVID-19 variants, is not being studied by researchers and scientists.
Duque said that the Lambda variant, C.37, which was first detected in Peru has now spread in 35 countries, but mostly in Latin America.
He said that there is a possibility that it could be classified as a variant of concern, like the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Lambda as a “variant of interest” so far.
“But one notable feature of this variant is may similarity po siya doon sa mutation na
nagaganap sa Delta variant. So pwedeng mas maging transmissible din po ito na variant at
puwedeng makaapekto rin sa effectiveness ng mga bakuna pero patuloy pong pinag-aaralan
ito,” Duque explained.
So far, the two latest Delta variant cases detected were Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) with travel history from Saudi Arabia. Both arrived in the Philippines on May 29, 2021 and have completed the requisite 10-day isolation period. They have already been discharged from the quarantine facility after being tagged as recovered.
(Eagle News Service)
