ILOILO City – Amid the threat of the new variants of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially the Delta variant, local chief executives (LCEs) in Western Visayas are urging the national government to establish a genome sequencing unit in the region.
Time consuming. This was what the LCEs described the current procedure of forwarding specimens taken via swab testing to the genome center in Metro Manila.
It also “defeats the goal” of immediately identifying the variants, they asserted.
The LCEs had a meeting yesterday with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Genome Center (PGC), West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC), and University of the Philippine Visayas (UPV).
They agreed to petition for additional equipment for PGC Visayas at UPV necessary to perform genome sequencing.
“Considering the confirmed COVID-19 Delta variant infected individuals in the Island of Panay, there is a critical need for prompt recognition of the variants circulating in the community to allow proper planning and intervention to avoid a further surge in cases,” the LCEs emphasized in their petition dated July 28.
The Delta variant was initially identified in India in December 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified it as a “variant of concern,” a term used when a virus is more transmissible, causes more severe disease or involves other complications.
According to the LCEs, on July 16, 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) reported the detection of additional Delta variant cases to include two cases from Region 6 (Antique) prompting the “abrupt decision” of the National Inter-Agency Task Force to escalate Iloilo City to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
As this was being written, the LCEs that already signed the petition were city mayors Jerry Treñas of Iloilo and Evelio Leonardia of Bacolod and governors Arthur Defensor Jr. (Iloilo), Samuel Gumarin (Guimaras), Eugenio Jose Lacson (Negros Occidental), and Esteban Contreras (Capiz).
Governors Rhodra Cadiao of Antique and Florencio Miraflores of Aklan have yet to sign the petition.
As early as May, Treñas already considered writing the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) to capacitate the Sub-National Laboratory (SNL) in Western Visayas Medical Center for genome sequencing.
He noted that the virus seemed to be more infectious, citing cases of some families in the city wherein almost members of the household, if not all, are infected.
“It has been a struggle for us to wait for one and a half months for the results to arrive after sending our vials to Luzon. We are hoping to have UP Visayas run the tests of the region to fast-track the results. PGC Visayas is also waiting for the equipment they procured so they can run tests in Miag-ao. WVSUMC will also be helping in running the genome testing,” said Treñas./PN
