The Beta variant is the most "common" variant among the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) positive samples that were subjected to genome sequencing, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

“ na po ang pinaka karaniwan ngayon na nakikita sa biosurveillance, umaabot po ng 21.1 percent nationally of all the specimens sequenced (This is the most common variant seen in biosurveillance, reaching 21.1 percent nationally of all the specimens sequenced),” said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III during a televised Cabinet briefing on Wednesday, July 7.

The Beta variant also known as the B.1.351 was first found in South Africa in May last year.

This was followed by the Alpha variant or the B.1.1.7, representing 18.53 percent of all sequenced samples nationwide, said Duque. This variant first emerged in the United Kingdom in September 2020.

Based on the recent biosurveillance report of Philippine Genome Center (PGC), it has detected a total of 1,386 cases of Beta variant, 1,217 cases of Alpha, 19 cases of Delta (B.1.617.2), and two cases of Gamma (P.1). These variants were all considered by the World Health Organization as “variants of concern,” which means they are associated with increased transmissibility and can cause severe illness.

Meanwhile, there were 166 cases of Theta (P.3) variant. This variant is still considered a “variant of interest.”

When asked by President Duterte if these variants can cause another “wave of infection,” Duque said that there is a possibility.

“It’s a big possibility, Mr. President. Although the another spikes in cases may be driven not just by the variants but also by increasing mobility of people, the reduced or poor compliance to our minimum public health standards,” he explained.

Duque also emphasized the strict implementation of border controls as well as other measures to minimize the threat of these variants.

“We have to really implement our PDITR (prevent, detect, isolate, treat, reintegrate) strategy, plus vaccination, to be able to keep our cases down and manage them while we are safely opening up the economy. So it’s really a balancing act between health and also of the economy,” he added.