The 35-year-old woman from Valladolid town in Negros Occidental tagged by the Philippine Genome Center as the first Lambda variant case in the Philippines tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, August 17, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
Her 27-day-old baby boy has also tested negative, he added.
The woman and her baby were swabbed again on Monday for COVID-19 tests at the Safeguard DNA Diagnostics Inc. laboratory in Valladolid, after the Department of Health announced that her specimen was found to be positive for the Lambda variant by the Philippine Genome Center.
The specimen was sent to the Philippine Genome Center on August 2 for genome sequencing after she tested positive for COVID-19 on admission at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City, where she gave birth on July 22.
The baby and her close contacts had tested negative for the virus, and she was released from a healing facility on August 6 after recovering from COVID-19.
Diaz and Valladolid Mayor Enrique Miravalles expressed doubts about the accuracy of the Philippine Genome Center findings as the woman had no history of travel.
All her close contacts were negative for the virus, the DOH should be sure about their data so as not to create panic, Miravalles said.
It is hard to believe that she had the Lambda variant since she has no history of travel, the mayor added.
Diaz said there may have been an error in the Philippine Genome Center findings.
Dr. Jessie Glen Alonsabe, DOH regional epidemiologist, said the woman’s specimen was sent to the Philippine Genome Center by the CLMMRH molecular laboratory and that was its findings.
She does not need to have a history of travel to acquire the Lambda variant. They should conduct back tracing to determine whom she came in contact with, Alonsabe 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, Dr. Adriano Suba-an, DOH 6 regional director, said.*