MANILA, Philippines — It is difficult to say that the recently detected virus mutations are to blame for the sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Central Visayas, the Department of Health said Friday.
The DOH announced that two mutations of SARS-CoV-2, or the virus that causes COVID-19, have been detected in Central Visayas. Of the 50 samples from the region, 31 or 62% were found with two “mutations of concern to the global community.”
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The department earlier said there was an uptick in COVID-19 infections in Central Visayas, with a “steep” increase in Cebu province as well as the cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
The OCTA Research Team also reported that Cebu City had an average of 202 cases per day from February 10 to 16, an increase of 62% from the previous week.
But DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said it is unclear if the surge in cases in the region was caused by the recently detected virus mutations. He said the region’s shift to modified general community quarantine, the lowest quarantine level there is, could be one of the reasons.
“There are many factors that need to be studied or observed. Region 7 was placed under MGCQ so there was increased mobility,” Duque said.
“So if there’s an increase in mobility, the transmission rate also increases. I think that is a possible reason. But there may be other reasons. More studies are needed to determine if the increase in cases is due to one factor, two factors or a combination of factors,” he added.
DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea De Guzman also said the same. “Wala pa tayong conclusion dahil nakita natin itong mutations na ito, ito na rin 'yung dahilan bakit bigla at mabilis ang pagtaas ng kaso sa Region 7.”
(We still have no conclusion that because we have detected these mutations, these are the reasons why there is a sudden and rapid increase in cases in Region 7.)
The health chief also said the detection of mutations in Central Visayas will not have an impact on Metro Manila’s expected shift to MGCQ in February.
“It will not affect it because the National Capital Region is a different region,” Duque said.
‘Mutations of concerns’
The mutations were identified as E484K and N501Y. The E484K mutation is found in variants that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, while the N501Y is found in the variant that originated in the United Kingdom.
The 31 patients found with both the E484K and N501Y mutations have exhibited mild symptoms and have finished quarantine.
Mutations are changes in the genetic code of a virus. Viruses, like the SARS-CoV-2, mutate all the time.
The World Health Organization said some mutations may result in the virus being more transmissible, increase in disease severity or influence efficacy of diagnostics or vaccines.
Meanwhile, a changed virus is called a variant of the original virus.
“We were given instructions by the WHO to monitor these mutations because these are mutations of concern and primarily because these are exhibited by variants of concern. For example, the variant that emerged in South Africa, Brazil and UK,” Cynthia Saloma, executive director of the Philippine Genome Center, said.
Authorities said further investigation is needed to determine the public health implications of the two mutations. It also remains unclear if these mutations will develop into a variant unique to the Philippines.
“Whether this is an emerging Philippine variant or not, that remains to be seen. Probably, we will know that in the next few weeks,” Saloma said.
This development comes at a time when the country is preparing to scale down more restrictions next month despite and with the arrival of donated vaccines delayed.
— Gaea Katreena Cabico