An official of the Department of Health (DOH) assured the public yesterday that there is “no need to panic” amid the detection of the UK COVID-19 variant in the country.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the new variant increases transmissibility but does not cause more severe illnesses.
“There is no need to panic actually kung tayo lang ay susunod sa minimum public health standards (There is no need to panic if we follow health standards),” Vergeire told ANC in an interview. “The variant, di po siya nagbago ng transmission; ‘yun pa rin po. Wala pong sinasabi na mas magkakaroon ng severe diseases (The variant did not change its transmission, it’s still the same. And there’s no study yet stating it can cause more severe diseases),” she added.
Vergeire however said that the spread of the UK COVID-19 variant may lead to increased cases and in turn higher hospitalization.
“This (variant) has…mas increased ang transmissibility, ibig sabihin po mas nakakahawa itong variant na ito (This variant has…increased transmissibility, which means it’s more contagious),” she said.
To prevent further spread of the variant, the Health undersecretary reiterated the call for strict compliance with minimum public health standards.
Vergeire, meantime, said the DOH has expanded the coverage of its contact tracing of persons who had contact with the male patient detected with the Britain coronavirus variant.