CEBU CITY—The Department of Health (DOH) office in Central Visayas sought to refute claims by experts that the rise in infections in the city was driven by a variant of SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that was first found in United Kingdom.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH regional spokesperson, said at an online press conference on Monday (Feb. 8) that 70 sets of respiratory samples had been sent to the genome center in Metro Manila and no conclusion can be made until these were found to be positive for the new coronavirus variant.
Loreche said other factors contribute to the rise in cases and not just the presence of the UK variant B.1.17, which was believed to be 50 to 70…
Keep on reading: DOH questions claims UK variant behind COVID-19 rise in Cebu City