Duterte says Sulu seeking help after new COVID-19 variant detected in nearby Sabah, Malaysia

The Provincial Government of Sulu has called on the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for assistance following reports that a new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variant has been detected in neighboring Sabah, Malaysia, President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday.

“Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan on Friday told… that he had instructed his staff to consult the task force to on our best to handle the emergency… Sabah is less than 29 hours with boat from the Sulu Archipelago,” said Duterte during a post-Christmas meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and experts that was broadcast live.

After a meeting on Sunday, Governor Tan said that the province will temporarily halt entries from Sabah due to the COVID variant.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry has dubbed the new variant as the "A701B" mutation. However, it is unsure if it is more infectious than the usual COVID-19 strain.

“We have a porous coastline and the vast Sulu Sea between us and Sabah and the City, national government is equipped with the capacity and logistics to put in place and in operation safeguards and preemptive measures,” Duterte said.

Meanwhile, the President said the Sulu Task Force COVID-19 called on the public to remain calm and heed advisories from official sources.

“With our frontline partners, we intensify out monitoring and utilize all materials and human sources at our disposal to assure our constituents and we reiterate our call to them to avoid speculations and spread fake and harmful mongering,” he said.

The Philippines reported a total of 469,005 COVID-19 cases with 431,055 recoveries and 9,067 fatalities. —MDM/BM, GMA News