MANILA — The OCTA Research & Group says the spreading of emerging new variants are a possible factor for the surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Metro Manila.
The OCTA Research Group said Saturday the spread of new COVID-19 variants may be a factor in the surge of cases in Metro Manila. In a public press briefing Saturday, OCTA research fellow Guido David said the rate of infection is faster than rates seen in Cebu and Mountain Province, which are among places that have seen cases of the United Kingdom (UK) variant. «May isa pang posibility na ‘yung UK variant or some other variants like sa South African and meron na ring other US variants… may possibility na may variant na nagsi-spread dito. Bakit? ‘Yung rate of spread masyadong mabilis. Eh in fact mas mabilis pa ito, this is similar sa rate of infection na nakita natin sa Cebu and Mountain Province,” David said when asked if the higher rates may be attributed to the public’s complacency when it comes to observing health protocols. (There’s also a possibility that the UK variant, or some other variants like the one from South Africa and other emerging US variants, there’s a possibility they are spreading. Why? The rate of spread is too fast. In fact, this is much faster than the rate of infections we see in Cebu and in Mountain Province.) This may be confirmed through genome sequencing, which is used to determine whether a sample of the COVID-19 virus is confirmed to carry its mutation. «Pero ‘yung scientific evidence ay manggagaling sa genome sequencing so hindi pa natin masasabi right now pero ang sinasabi natin may possibility na may variant na nagse-spread kaya mabilis ang pagkalat niya,” David added.
