The variant first found in India is more contagious, according to the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) on Wednesday.
A health worker inoculates a woman with China s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at a drive-thru vaccination site in Manila, Philippines on May 7, 2021. - AP
MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): The government is ramping up measures to block the entry of the Indian variant of the coronavirus that is believed to be killing tens of thousands daily during the current surge in Covid-19 cases in the South Asian country, according to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
Under new guidelines issued by the government’s pandemic managers, all Filipino and foreign travellers arriving in the country starting on Friday (May 7) this week will be required to spend the first 10 days of a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a government accredited facility.
Published May 7, 2021, 5:13 PM
The Department of Health (DOH) said it is eyeing to further strengthen the country’s genome sequencing capacity in order to detect more cases of coronavirus variants.
Currently, only three institutions have the capacity to conduct genome sequencing. These are the Philippine Genome Center (PGC), University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH), and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
“We would like to expand the capacity for this whole genome sequencing not just here in Metro Manila but also having strategic hubs in the other areas of the country. So kasama po iyan sa aming plano (So that’s part of our plan),” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing on Friday, May 7.
DOH eyes expanding capacity for genome sequencing By JULIA MARI ORNEDO, GMA News
Published May 7, 2021 3:53pm The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said it plans to expand the country’s whole genome sequencing capacity to detect more cases of coronavirus variants. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said only the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health, and Philippine Genome Center currently have the capacity for genome sequencing. “We would like to expand the capacity for this whole genome sequencing not just here in Metro Manila but also having strategic hubs in the other areas of the country,” she said in an online briefing.
(DOH)
In a statement, the Health department, together with the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH), reported the detection of additional 289 B.1.1.7 variant cases, 380 B.1.351 variant cases, and nine P.3 variant cases from the 744 samples sequenced.
The DOH said of the additional 289 B.1.1.7 variant cases detected, 48 cases are returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), 185 are local cases, and 56 cases are currently being verified if they are local or ROF cases.
“Based on the case line list, three cases remain active while two have died and 284 have recovered,” it said.
Of the additional 380 B.1.351 variant cases, the DOH said, 107 cases are ROFs, 196 are local cases, and 77 cases are currently being verified if they are local or ROF cases.