KALIBO, Aklan – Health authorities have detected five cases of Beta and Philippine variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Aklan.
According tot he Provincial Health Office, the variants were detected in five out nine specimens sequenced at the University of the Philippines – Philippine Genome Center (PGC).
All were local cases in four towns. The results were released on July 21, three weeks after the samples were sent to PGC.
The cases were already tagged as recovered.
Samples from an 89-year-old man from New Washington, 54-year-old woman from Buruanga and 29-year old man from Nabas yielded the Beta variant.
The Beta variant or B.1.3.51 was first detected in South Africa last year. It was classified a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO), which meant it was associated with increased transmissibility.
Aside from the Beta variant, the whole-genome sequencing report also recorded two cases of the Philippine variant (P.3) from a 51-year-old woman, a resident of Kalibo, and 45-year-old man from New Washington town.
The P.3 variant is classified a “variant of interest”.
WHO defines a “variant of interest” as one that has genetic changes predicted or known to affect transmissibility, diagnostic or therapeutic escape.
Provincial Health Officer I Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr. emphasized to the public to remain calm and vigilant.
“We encourage the eligible population to get vaccinated and strictly adhere to the minimum health standards to protect oneself from any Covid-19 variants,” he added.
Aklan is in a midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases; it tallied over 2,400 cases in the past three weeks.
The towns with reported coronavirus variants have 555 active cases, namely, Kalibo with 282, Nabas with 140, Buruanga with 53 and New Washington with 80 as of July 23, according to PHO-Aklan.
The province is under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions until July 31./PN
