MANILA, Philippines – Senator Francis Pangilinan on Wednesday called on the government to remain vigilant and not be complacent while the new variant of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first reported in the United Kingdom, has not been detected yet in the Philippines.
Pangilinan made the call after the Department of Health (DOH) said that there is still no presence of new COVID-19 variant in the country based on samples tested by the Philippine Genome Center.
“Huwag nating ulitin ang mga pagkukulang natin last year. January pa lang last year, nanawagan na tayo ng preemptive ban sa mga bumibiyahe mula Wuhan at matinding contact-tracing para sa mga nandito na. Kailangang natuto na tayo at huwag nang magpapetiks-petiks pa para hindi kumalat ang sinasabing bagong variant ng Covid-19,” he said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, the DOH said that the B.1.1.7 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, first reported in the United Kingdom, has not yet been detected in the country from samples gathered in November and December of last year.
This is amid speculations that the new variant is already in the Philippines after authorities in Hong Kong said the B.1.1.7 variant was detected from a 30-year-old female resident who returned to Hong Kong from Manila on December 22.
“We call for a clarity of messages. Syempre ang unang iisipin ng ating mga mamamayan, dahil dito ang pinanggalingan ng bagong COVID positive na pasyente sa Hong Kong, ibig sabihin meron na rin dito sa Pilipinas noong bagong variant. Kailangang linawin ito ng maigi ng DOH at ire-assure ang ating mga kababayan,” Pangilinan said.
The Philippine Airlines on Wednesday said the passengers who was reported to have tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 in Hong Kong presented a negative test result before boarding the flight.
The DOH said it now tracing people who may have been exposed to the patient during the flight.
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