The Department of Health (DOH) announced Monday, August 16, that the first Lambda variant case in the Philippines was found in Negros Occidental.
DOH 6 Regional Director Adriano Suba-an said the person tagged by the Philippine Genome Center as having tested positive for the Lambda variant was a 35-year-old pregnant female from Valladolid town in Negros Occidental. She has since delivered and her baby boy tested negative for COVID-19, he said.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Valladolid Mayor Enrique Miravalles does not agree with the Lambda report, but it does not matter what variant hits Negros Occidental, the protocols are all the same for staying safe.
“We have to remain vigilant, follow health protocols, be strict on our borders,” Lacson said, adding that their main concern is the Delta variant because it is a fast spreader. So far no Delta variant case has been detected in Negros Occidental, he said.
The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office is investigating the report because of the peculiar circumstances surrounding the case of the 35-year-old as all her close contacts tested negative for COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
She has also never travelled outside of Negros Occidental in the past year, so we don’t know where her Lambda came from, he said.
“There are a lot of questions that can be raised questioning the alleged report of the presence of that variant in Negros Occidental,” he said.
Diaz said the PHO together with the DOH are investigating the case.
“We have to revalidate a lot of things. People should not jump to the conclusion that Lambda is already in Negros Occidental,” he said.
Suba-an said the 35-year-old had a routine swabbing July 2, and tested positive for COVID-19 and was immediately transferred to the nearest quarantine facility while being asymptomatic. On July 16 she was re-swabbed and came up with a negative result and was tagged as recovered, he added.
On July 22, as an admission protocol for women about to give birth at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City, the patient was again swabbed and her RT-PCR result yielded positive for COVID-19, he said.
Contact tracing was immediately conducted and the patient’s newborn was swabbed. All close contacts including the baby had negative RT-PCR results, Suba-an said.
The patient and her baby were discharged from CLMMRH and transferred to a Temporary Treatment Monitoring Facility (TTMF). Both the patient and her baby were released from the healing facility on August 6, he said.
On August 2, the patient’s specimen was sent to the Philippine Genome Center for whole genome sequencing. On August 15 the DOH 6 received an endorsement from the Epidemiology Bureau indicating that the patient tested positive for the Lambda (C.37) variant, Suba-an said.
The patient was swabbed for another COVID-19 test on Monday, Diaz said.
The Lambda variant is currently classified as a variant of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization. It was first identified in Peru in August 2020. This VOI has the potential to affect the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 and is currently being monitored for its possible clinical significance, he said.
Suba-and reminded the public that the minimum public health standards and getting vaccinated are still the best defense against COVID-19 and any of its variants.
Everyone should remember to wear their masks properly, wash their hands, observe physical distancing, and ensure proper ventilation whenever they are indoors, Suba-an said.
Suba-an said he is also encouraging local government units to strengthen their Prevent- Detect- Isolate- Treat- Reintegrate or PDITR strategy.
“It (Lambda) is still COVID, the protocols are the same for staying safe. Treatment is also the same and our hospitals are ready in fact the province’s (COVID) risk level has been downgraded to Level 1 because our positivity rate is going down every day. Hospital occupancy is at 30 plus percent,” Diaz said.*