The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed Saturday, March 13, a new variant of the coronavirus called P.3 which was first found in the Philippines.

The DOH said there has been no sufficient evidence showing that the P.3 variant is a variant of concern.

In February, the Health department said two “mutations with potential clinical significance” or the N501Y and E484K, were detected in samples from Central Visayas.

“Upon verification with the Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Lineages (PANGOLIN), the said samples with these mutations have been reassigned to the P.3 variant, belonging to the B.1.1.28 lineage, to which the P.1(Brazil) variant also belongs,” the DOH said in a statement.

“At present, the P.3 is not identified as a variant of concern as current available data are insufficient to conclude whether the variant will have significant public health implications,” the DOH said.

The total number of P.3 variant cases in the country stood at 98.

The Japan Ministry of Health on Friday, March 12, said it detected a new coronavirus variant in a traveler from the Philippines.

The Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), in a statement posted on its website, said that the sample of the traveler from the Philippines had “E484K and N501Y mutations from a SARS-CoV-2.”

“The potential public health impact from this variant strain shall be considered to be equivalent to those from known VOCs (variants of concern) as this variant strain shares the same mutations of concern with VOCs,” the NIID said.

“Thus, NIID recommends enhanced vigilance and border health measures to be implemented for this variant,” it added.