"DON’T panic. Instead, continue to observe minimum health protocols by wearing face mask, face shield and be vigilant."
This was the advice of Governor Eugenio Lacson, as the Provincial Health
Office is verifying with the Department of Health (DOH) about the reported Lambda variant of Covid-19 in Negros Occidental.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the Provincial Health Office (PHO), DOH, and the Philippine Genome Center are currently conducting an investigation on one of the Covid-19 patients in the province who is currently being suspected as the country's first case of the Lambda variant.
The patient is a 35-year-old pregnant woman from the town of Valladolid.
Diaz said the patient was asymptomatic and had since recovered.
According to Diaz, they are currently not confirming the case as a Lambda variant as it is a "peculiar case."
Diaz said that when they conducted contact tracing on the patient's close contacts, including those in her household, they had all tested negative for Covid-19.
The patient also did not have any travel history out of the province for more than a year.
"There are several questions that can be raised, questioning the alleged report of that presence of the variant in Negros Occidental," Diaz said.
Diaz also said they performed a confirmatory test on the patient following the positive result, and the confirmatory showed that she is negative.
Based on the patient's records, she was referred to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City on July 22.
She then gave birth to a baby boy six hours later. As part of the health protocols for pregnant women, she underwent the initial RT-PCR test, which came out positive.
By July 26 she was released from hospital admission and transferred to the province's quarantine facility in the town of E.B. Magalona.
She was released from quarantine on August 3, and her sample was sent to the Philippine Genome Center on the same date.
The results showing allegedly that she has a Lambda variant was released on August 15.
After receiving the report, Diaz said the patient was again swabbed, although they are not placing her residence on lockdown as she is already considered as recovered.
"This is not yet conclusive, that's why this is being investigated, because Lambda is supposed to be very contagious and lowers the effectivity of the vaccine, but in this particular case, why all those who have direct contact with her are all negative based on tests?" Diaz questioned.
The Lambda variant, also known as the C.37 lineage of Covid-19, was first detected in Peru in August 2020.
The variant is known to have the same infectious power as the Delta and Delta+ variants, but the primary concern is the variant could be highly resistant to vaccines.
The Lambda variant is currently tagged as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization.