DOH: 3 of 44 UK variant cases still active

MANILA, Philippines — Three of 44 individuals who contracted the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19 remain active, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

Of the 44 cases of the UK variant or B117 variant detected in the country, three have not recovered from the virus, according to Alethea de Guzman, officer-in-charge of the DOH Epidemiology Bureau.

“They remain in isolation and are just completing the required number of days. Investigation and contact tracing are ongoing,” De Guzman said during the DOH’s Kapihan forum.

The 40 other cases recovered while one – an 84-year-old man from La Trinidad, Benguet died sometime in January.

De Guzman noted that of the three active cases, one is a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from the United Arab Emirates while the other is a 20-year-old woman from Sabangan, Mountain Province. Both cases were detected in Metro Manila.

The third is a 37-year-old man from Impasug-ong, Bukidnon who went to Metro Manila as a pre-departing passenger.

Data showed that 28 of the 44 cases are considered local while 15 were ROFs. The status of one case is still being verified.

Of the 28 cases, 14 had links to the cluster of cases in Bontoc, while two are from the La Trinidad cluster.

The linkage of the other cases is still being verified.

De Guzman said there is still no sufficient evidence that community transmission of the new variant exists in the country.

“All regions should be well represented in genome sequencing. Samples submitted are not yet enough to generate conclusive findings to determine the extent of  B.1.1.7 transmission,” she said.

Genome sequencing is being done by the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) on positive swab samples to detect the presence of new variants in the country.

As of Feb. 12, a total of 1,945 swab samples have been sequenced by the PGC.

Metro Manila has the highest number of samples submitted with 365, followed by the Cordilleras with 321, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 309 and Cagayan Valley with 308.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has not submitted any sample for genome sequencing despite repeated requests from DOH.

The PGC targets to process 750 samples per week.

Meanwhile, Ilocos Norte Gov. Mathew Manotoc has confirmed a case of UK variant in his province, saying the patient has been in isolation since he arrived on Feb. 8.

The patient, tagged as C-19-UK-1, is a 46-year-old returning overseas Filipino worker, who arrived in the Manila from Bahrain on Jan. 23.

The patient underwent swab test the next day and found positive for COVID-19.

He was quarantined from Jan. 24 to Feb. 7 in Manila.

On Feb. 8, the patient was brought to his native town of Pasuquin, where he was isolated at the church-run Foyer de Charite.

On Feb. 13, the PGC in Manila released the result of the patient’s test, confirming he tested positive for the UK variant. – Raymund Catindig