New COVID-19 B117-SARS-CoV-2 (UK Variant) detected in the Philippines

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) has officially confirmed the presence of the new B117-SARS-CoV-2 variant of COVID-19 in the country. The new variant was first detected in the UK and was announced a day before Christmas last month.

The Positive sample was from a male Quezon City resident Filipino traveller from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The patient departed for Dubai last December 27, 2020 for business purposes and went back home last January 7, 2021. He’s a was accompanied by his female partner who seem to yield negative to the swab test result done upon their arrival in the country.

The DOH has already secured the flight manifest of the Emirates Flight No. EK 332 with contact tracing now on going and that all passengers of the said flight were all advised to get in touch with their BHERTs.

With the new developments, the DOH reiterates its call to everyone to observe and practice the minimum health standards and follow all existing quarantine protocols to minimize the spread of COVID-19.