The Department of Health, the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Health (UP-NIH) reports its first case of the Lambda Variant found in Western Visayas.
This involves a 35-year-old pregnant female from Valladolid, Negros Occidental. She had a routine swabbing July 2, 2021 and yielded a positive result for the COVID-19 RT PCR. She was immediately transferred to the nearest quarantine facility while being asymptomatic. On July 16, 2021 the case was re-swabbed and came up with negative result. The patient was tagged as recovered.
On July 22, as as admission protocol for women about to give birth as Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), the patient was swabbed. The RT-PCR result yielded positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing was immediately conducted including the patient's newborn were swabbed. All close contacts including the baby had negative RT-PCR results.
The patients and her baby were discharged from CLMMRH and was transferred to a temporary treatment monitoring facility (TTMF). Both the patient and her baby were released from the healing facility August 6, 2021.
On August 2, 2021 the patient's specimen was sent to UP-PGC for whole genome sequencing. On August 15, 2021, the DOH WV-CHD received endorsement from the Epidemiology Bureau indicating that the patient tested positive for the Lambda (C.37) variant. The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office was notified and both patient and her baby were scheduled to undergo swabbing.
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.
The DOH reminds the public that the minimum public health standards and getting vaccinated is still the best defense against COVID-19 and an 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. It also encourages the local government units to strengthen their Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate or PDITR strategy.
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