Manila records 16 more cases of UK variant
MANILA: Health officials have confirmed the discovery of 16 more new cases of the United Kingdom ( UK) variant of the coronavirus ( COVID-19), which is said to be more deadly and more transmissible and brought to 17 the total of such infections in the country.
The Department of Health (DOH) said 12 came from the town of Bontoc, Mountain Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region in the Northern Luzon highlands but local officials admited they were at a loss on how the variant arrived there.
“Of the 12 cases seven are male and five female,” the DOH said. “Three are aged below 18 years old and another three are above 60.”
It added the other two patients were overseas Filipino workers ( OFWS) who arrived last Dec.29 from Lebanon where the UK variant of the deadly virus has also been discovered.
The first confirmed case of the variant was a Filipino businessman who was recovering but his girlfriend and mother were confirmed to be positive and have been hospitalised, the DOH said even as it assured that it was undertaking an intensive contact tracing to prevent its spread.
On Friday, the DOH said it recorded 2,178 additional virus cases, considered the highest in two months since Nov.8, 2020 when there were 2,438 cases. The latest cases brought the total infections nationwide to 509,887 with the death toll at 10,136 and recoveries hiting a high 487,720,
This developed as the OCTA research group expressed concern over the decision of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to relax age restrictions in areas under the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
“While we respect the government position on this, we believe it is very risky and contrary to sensible epidemic management,” warned Ranjit Rye, a fellow of OCTA composed of experts from the state-owned University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas run by Dominican priests.
Rye was reacting to the IATF decision allowing those aged 10 to 65 years old living in MGCQ areas to leave their homes as recommended businessmen to help perk up the economy from the onslaught unleashed by COVID-19.
The IATF also urged local government units under the GCQ (general community quarantine) to adopt the same relaxation on the age restrictions, which means that those covered could now go, for instance, to shopping malls.