THE Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, reiterated that the United Kingdom (UK) variant of Sars-CoV-2 has not been detected in the Philippines.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, in a statement on Wednesday, said they were in close coordination with Hong Kong authorities to get details of the confirmed UK variant case from Manila.
"We have initiated coordination already with the IHR (International Health Regulations) Focal Point of HK to request (for) further details,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a statement.
"(We are) Also retrieving the flight manifest for the identified flight. We will be informing as soon as we get complete information," she added.
Hong Kong authorities confirmed Tuesday, January 5, that a female passenger, 30, on Philippine Airlines PR300 flight from Manila on December 22, 2020 was found positive for the UK variant.
Read: UK variant case in Hong Kong came from Manila, officials say
In his statement, Duque said the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) of the University of the Philippines did not detect the new variant in any of the 305 coronavirus-positive samples submitted by nine institutions.
The PGC conducted whole genome sequencing on the specimens, which came from patients admitted in hospitals in November-December 2020 and from inbound travelers who tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 upon arrival at the airport.
The new variant, identified as B.1.1.7, was first detected in the UK. It has been reported to be more contagious than the prevailing variant of Sars-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Duque reiterated its call on all local government units and transport regulators to continuously implement the minimum public health standards in all settings as a measure to cut transmission of the virus.
As of January 5, 479,693 cases of infection have been confirmed in the Philippines, including 21,997 active cases, 9,321 mortalities and 448,375 recoveries. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)