UK and South Africa COVID19 variants detected in DavNor

DAVAO DEL NORTE, June 25 (PIA) – Two COVID19 variants first found in the United Kingdom and South Africa have recently been detected in the province.

In a press release dated June 23, 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported that there is 1 case of Alpha and 6 cases of Beta COVID19 variants in Davao del Norte.

The Alpha variant is known as the “B.1.1.7” variant first found in the United Kingdom in November 2020 while the Beta variant is the “B.1.351” variant first found in South Africa in October 2020.

The Alpha COVID19 case in the province is a 38-year-old asymptomatic male who is currently admitted in one of the province’s isolation facility.

For the 6 cases of Beta COVID19 cases, 3 of them are a 28-year -old male who was asymptomatic, a 20-year-old female and a 22-year-old male who both experienced mild symptoms. However, all three have already been discharged.

The other three cases are still active: a 40-year-old asymptomatic female, an 84-year-old male with moderate symptoms, and a 43-year-old female with mild symptoms. All three are currently admitted at the province’s isolation facilities.

DOH stated that these cases are non-OFW cases and are not identified to be related to each other according to the initial investigation of the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit together with the health offices of the concerned LGUs.

“The concerned LGUs are currently conducting an extensive contact tracing up to third generation close contacts and thorough investigation of the possible source of these variants. All identified close contacts of the remaining 4 active cases of VOCs will be prioritized for testing. All first generation close contacts, regardless of a negative result, must undergo a 14-day strict quarantine at a facility,” the press release stated.

Both the Alpha and Beta variants are considered by the World Health Organization as “variants of concern”.

Protection against Alpha and Beta

In a preprint study led by University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Universities of Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle and Birmingham, it was found that a natural recovery from COVID19 infection does not necessarily protect one from these two variants, regardless of whether the recovery was from an asymptomatic or symptomatic case.

On the other hand, several studies have shown that the Sinovac, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson COVID19 vaccines offer some degree of protection against the Alpha and Beta variants. (Jan Vincent Leuterio/PIA-XI)

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