June 02, 2021 AN OFFICIAL from the Davao City Health Office (CHO) said the current surge of Covid-19 cases experienced in the city can be attributed to the emergence of the new variant. "I believe naa gyud ta'y variant. Although wala pa ta'y confirmation ani with the PGC [Philippine Genome Center], [kung] ingon ani kapaspas ang pagsaka [sa Covid-19 cases], variant ni (I believe that this is due to the emergence of the new variant. Although there is still no confirmation coming from PGC, but if this is the trend of the increase in cases it must be because of the new variant)," CHO Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.