DOH: No Deltacron case yet in Philippines; safeguards in place vs variant in Israel

The Department of Health (DOH) said that it had not yet detected the hybrid coronavirus mutation "Deltacron" in the country, and that safeguards and surveillance systems were in place amid the discovery of a new COVID-19 variant in Israel.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday that Omicron was the most detected variant based on the collected samples from the latest genome sequencing.

“As of the latest sequencing, tayo ay nakakadetect pa rin mostly ng Omicron na mga variants noong pinakahuli nating sequencing na kasama kasi yung mga backlogs na nagumpisa pa I think last 2021,” Vergeire said in a media briefing.

(As of the latest sequencing, we were still able to detect mostly Omicron variants from our most recent sequencing, which included the backlogs that started I think last 2021.)

“Kaya meron tayong nadetect na mga Alpha, Beta pero marami pa rin ang nadetect na Omicron from the samples that were collected from this recent na mga weeks natin dito. Hanggang sa ngayon wala pa po tayong nadedetect na Deltacron dito sa ating bansa,” Vergeire said in a media briefing.

(We have detected Alpha and Beta cases but we still have a lot of Omicron detected from the samples that were collected from our recent weeks. So far we have not detected Deltacron in our country.)

Experts earlier said that Deltacron, reportedly discovered in a Cyprus laboratory, was most likely the result of a laboratory contamination and not a new worrying variant.

However, the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille, France reported that it was too soon to know whether Deltacron infections would be very transmissible or cause severe disease.

New COVID-19 variant detected in Israel

On the reports of the new COVID-19 variant in Israel, Vergeire said it was still being studied, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) had no further announcement yet on the new variant.

“According to the reports also yung pasyente nagkaroon ng mild symptoms, nilagnat nagkaroon nang masakit na ulo, masakit na kasukasuan other than that walang ibang naramdaman. Ang WHO tinatrack nila yung ganitong klase ng variants na lumalabas ngunit patuloy pa rin ang pag-aaral, wala pang further announcement ang WHO regarding this matter,” the Health undersecretary said.

(According to the reports, the patient had mild symptoms, fever, had a headache, and body aches. The WHO is still tracking these types of variants that are emerging and it is still being studied. The WHO has not yet made further announcements regarding this matter.)

Israel's Ministry of Health earlier said it had recorded two cases of a new COVID-19 variant, though officials said they were not unduly worried about it.

The strain, combining two sub-variants of the Omicron version of the COVID-19 virus -- dubbed BA.1 and BA.2 -- was recorded during PCR tests on two passengers arriving at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

Vergeire, however, assured the public that there was nothing to worry about given that safeguards and surveillance systems were in place as the country opened up its borders for travelers.

“Nakabantay po tayo sa ating borders although we have opened up our borders to travelers mayroon pa rin naman tayong mga safeguard na nakapwesto dyan para po tayo ay magkaroon ng close surveillance and also to prevent the entry of more variants,” she said.

(We are keeping an eye on our borders. Although we have opened up our borders to travelers we still have safeguards stationed there so that we can have close surveillance and also prevent the entry of more variants.)

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat earlier said the country would reopen its borders to travelers from all countries, including from visa countries, starting April 1.

The Philippines started accepting business and leisure travelers from 157 visa-free countries on February 10, the first time it has done so in two years since the pandemic began. — DVM, GMA News