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DOH: 4 of 6 South Africa coronavirus variant cases logged in Pasay


The number of COVID-19 cases in Pasay City found to have the South Africa coronavirus variant rose to four on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) verified the information of one of the six cases.

“Anim po lahat, apat dito ay galing sa mga residente galing sa Pasay City at dalawa po ay mga returning overseas Filipinos galing pong UAE and Qatar,” DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Alethea De Guzman said in a virtual briefing.

The Pasay cases include a 61-year-old female, 39-year-old male, and a 40-year-old male.

Previously, the DOH said it was still confirming whether one of the six cases is a local or a returning overseas Filipino. 

De Guzman said Pasay was classified as a “critical risk” area due to the spike in cases in the city.

Pasay has logged 12,452 cases with 10,616 recoveries and 168 deaths as of March 2, with 91% of its barangays affected by COVID-19.

The DOH said the city’s two-week case growth rate rose to 386% while the average daily attack rate of COVID-19 increased to 24.7 per 100,000 population.

However, Pasay’s healthcare utilization rate remained low at 46%.

“What’s really good about Pasay is they have instituted a lot of actions already. Number  one, stricter na lockdowns. It’s now barangay-wide lockdowns, and ikalawa po ‘yung active case finding… [at] pag-e-ensure na ang cases po nila ay nata-transfer to an isolation facility para po ma-minimize na ‘yung transmission,” De Guzman said.

Genome sequencing

The DOH said that out of the 3,044 samples that underwent genome sequencing, 0.2% tested positive for the South Africa variant and 3% or 87 samples had the United Kingdom variant.

Both variants are linked to increased transmissibility but evidence is yet to prove whether they make COVID-19 more severe.

De Guzman said the South Africa variant has a mutation that causes increased transmissibility and another mutation that has a potential effect on vaccine efficacy.

Experts from the OCTA Research group also said the surge in COVID-19 cases may have been driven by the new variants. 

But the DOH said that while the variants may be a factor in the spike, adherence to health protocols will still determine the extent of their transmission.

“It’s really the practice of these preventive measures that will drive kung tataas ang kaso natin or hindi. Posibleng mag-contribute dito ‘yung mga variants but, at the end of the day, we have to practice masking, physical distancing,” De Guzman said. -MDM, GMA News

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