by Laniel Eszy Arive
The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed on Tuesday, June 1, that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Delta variant was found in the sample of one patient from Abra.
The patient is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who arrived from Dubai on April 26 and was immediately isolated in a hotel in Tarlac.
On May 3, the swab specimen of the patient tested positive. She was put in isolation at the Bureau of Quarantine-Tarlac until May 11.
The patient already tested negative on May 12 and was transferred to Bangued Municipal Quarantine Facility in Abra.
Another swab test was done on May 22, which yielded a negative result.
According to DOH-Abra team leader Alex Bayubay and Provincial Health Officer Maria Christina Cabrera, on June 4, the OFW from Bangued has no close contacts in the province.
However, the presence of the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is still of the top concerns among the 143 new COVID-19 variant cases recorded in the Cordillera region.
‘Double mutant’: Major concern
Health experts have said that the Delta variant is more contagious than the original SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The said variant of concern (VOC) is also called “double mutant” because it consists of two prominent mutations, L452R and E484Q, which may help the virus evade some antibodies or an immune response.
These two mutations also affect the virus’ spike protein which is the basis of COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, scientists have been testing whether this variant could lessen vaccine efficacy.
Meanwhile, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that the detection of the “India variant” in the region is a major concern for Baguio because severe medical emergencies are usually brought to the city’s hospitals.
Magalong also said that the process of detection and confirmation of one’s exposure to COVID-19 variants is taking much time, adding that viral transmission may have already occurred before the local government units (LGUs) were informed.
The Cordillera has already reached 36,691 COVID-19 cases, with 34,880 recoveries and 641 deaths.
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