MANILA – Alpha and Beta variants of the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been detected in Iloilo city and province, according to Department of Health (DOH) undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
She, however, did not give the number of cases during a virtual presser yesterday.
All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, change over time. Most changes have little to no impact on the virus’ properties. However, some changes may affect the virus’ properties, such as how easily it spreads, the associated disease severity, or the performance of vaccines, among others.
Citing the latest genome sequencing results of the Philippine Genome Center, Vergeire said “majority of the cases of the Alpha and Beta variants were detected in Iloilo city and province.”
The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with partners, expert networks, national authorities, institutions and researchers have been monitoring and assessing the evolution of SARS-CoV-2. It has identified four variants of concern. These are the following:
* Alpha – initially detected in the United Kingdom
* Beta – initially detected in South Africa in December 2020
* Gamma – initially identified in travelers from Brazil who were tested during routine screening at an airport in Japan, in early January
* Delta – initially identified in India in December 2020
These variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States.
So far, studies suggest that the current authorized vaccines work on the circulating variants, according to the CDC.
Friday last week, DOH disclosed that an elderly couple from Pandan, Antique were the first recorded infections of the Delta variant in Western Visayas. The husband recovered but the wife died.
They were hospitalized in Antique on May 27 and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 29.
According to Dr. Glen Alonsabe, regional epidemiologist at DOH Region 6 and head of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), the wife died on May 31 due to hypoximia secondary to pneumonia.
The husband, on the other hand, was discharged on May 31. He was asymptomatic and was advised to continue home quarantine. Completing the mandatory quarantine on June 13, he was tagged as recovered.
‘COOPERATE’
Malacañang is appealing for cooperation from the local government units of Iloilo city and province after they were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for the remainder of July.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, President Rodrigo Duterte saw basis for quickly approving the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF-MEID) recommendation for Iloilo last week.
Roque said the President relied on the opinion of experts of DOH and the IATF-MEID, and won’t hesitate to upgrade community quarantine classifications if there are grounds to do so.
“Ang hinihiling lang po ng Presidente, lalong-lalo na sa lokal na pamahalaan (ng Iloilo City at Iloilo province) ay ang kanilang kooperasyon,” Roque said in a virtual presser from Davao City on Monday afternoon.
“Mabilis ang aksyon ng Presidente noong nagkaroon ng direktang impormasyon ang DOH at ang National Task Force. Hindi naman po tayo mag-i-impose ng ECQ kung wala pong dahilan,” he added.
Roque’s statement came after Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Trenas said in an interview early Monday that there was no basis for the IATF-MEID to shift them to the strictest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quarantine classification.
“I have my own reasons why Iloilo City should not be placed on ECQ,” Treñas told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo on Monday. “The Delta variant was found in Pandan, Antique, which is 200 kilometers away from Iloilo City.”
“The numbers of COVID-19 cases in Iloilo City compared to June are 20 percent lower. If we look at the numbers, it does not really justify the imposition of ECQ in Iloilo City,” he added.
However, Undersecretary Vergeire said they have recommended escalating Iloilo city and province to ECQ even before the discovery of two Delta variant cases in Pandan, Antique.
“The recommendation is partly because both areas serve as gateways for Antique and to contain the possible spread of the Delta variant in Region 6,” Vergeire said.
“In fact we have already recommended the ECQ in Iloilo City and province even before the Delta variant was detected because of the continuing trend of increasing two-week growth rate and average daily attack rate,” she added.
Vergeire furthered that the healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) and intensive care unit ICU utilization “remain to be at high risk and nearing critical risk” for both areas, and even with the implementation of ECQ, “no improvements in parameters” have been seen for both areas.
However, the DOH in Region 6, in its latest monitoring, classified Iloilo City as moderate risk area for COVID-19 while Iloilo province is low risk.
DOH-6 data showed that while the city’s HCUR was high at 76.14 percent its average daily attack rate was moderate at 17.93 percent (from July 5 to July 18), lower than the 19.08 percent from June 21 to July 4.
Iloilo province, on the other hand, was classified as low risk after having ADAR of 6.03 percent for the recent the two weeks compared to 7.30 percent for the previous two weeks while its HCUR was moderate risk at 62.17 percent.
Generally, Western Visayas was classified as low risk.
Aklan is the only province with high risk classification. In fact, it has been classified as high risk from July 5 to July 18 or for two weeks already.
Aklan’s recent ADAR was 13.83 percent, higher than the 12.98 from June 21 to July 4 while its recent two-week growth rate was seven percent against the previous two weeks at 12.01 percent.
Its HCUR, meantime, was low at 45.83 percent.
Meanwhile, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental were classified at low risk while Bacolod City and Antique were moderate risk./PN
