Person may test positive for two variants of COVID-19, says DOH

An individual may test positive at the same time for two variants of COVID-19 at the same time, the Department of Health said on Wednesday.

In a news briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire referred to the variants of coronavirus from the United Kingdom and South Africa.

“Noong nag-uusap po ang ating task force on COVID-19 variants, ang ating mga eksperto ay nagsabi na rin na meron talagang probability, or merong posibilidad na magkaroon ng dalawang klaseng variants ang isang tao," Vergeire said.

However, she said that no person in the country had been detected to have two variants of the coronavirus.

The UK variant of coronavirus—which the Health department said was more transmissble but not more severe—has infected 17 COVID-19 patients in the Philippines so far, including the index case from Quezon City.

"As to the reports here in our country, hanggang sa ngayon po, 17 pa lang po rin ang ating nade-detect na variants. Wala pa hong nadadagdag diyan," Vergeire said.

"'Yung pinakahuli po nating ginawang genome sequencing among 48 specimens, wala po tayong natagpuan na variant that has public health significance, or makakaapekto dito sa pagkakahawa-hawa rito sa ating bansa,” she added.

Of the 17 infected with the UK variant of the coronavirus, 12 are in Bontoc, Mountain Province.

At least 89 close contacts the 12 individuals from Bontoc infected with the UK variant of the coronavirus have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Philippine Genome Center analyzes the genome sequencing of COVID-19 patients to determine if they were infected with the UK variant.

Vergeire has said that the results of genome sequencing had been delayed due to lack of supply and other reagents in the Philippine Genome Center.

She said that the center’s genome sequencing efforts would be boosted by state-run University of the Philippines National Institute of Health and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the coming weeks to speed up the turnover of the results. -NB, GMA News