Seafarer with India variant intubated; 3 others on oxygen support — DOH

DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — One of the seafarers from the MV Athens Bridge who tested positive for the COVID-19 variant first detected in India has been intubated, while three others are on oxygen support, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the four seafarers are currently admitted to a hospital in Metro Manila.

“Ang isa sa kanila ngayon ay naka-intubate, pero sabi ng isang hospital na nasa maayos na kalagayan [na siya] at mukhang nag-iimprove. Tatlo sa kanila ang under oxygen support and they are also doing well,” she said in an online press briefing.

(One of them is intubated. But the hospital said he is now in a good condition and that his health is improving. Three of them are under oxygen support and are also doing well.)

The DOH earlier reported the detection of 10 more cases of the B.1.617 variant in the country, composed of the nine crew members of the MV Athens Bridge that arrived from India and docked in Manila on May 6, and a returning overseas Filipino from Belgium who passed through the United Arab Emirates before arriving in the Philippines.

Vergeire revealed the condition of the four seafarers from the cargo ship when asked if the variant from India made the condition of patients worse as compared to other variants. She said, however, that there is not much evidence yet about the progression of sickness on people with the said variant.

Meanwhile, Vergeire also said that the seafarers from the MV Athens Bridge will undergo retesting for COVID-19 this Monday.

“They are being retested today because it’s their 21st day since they started with their symptoms,” she said.

Health authorities will also look at the course of infection of the seafarers to see if the duration and condition of their infection were worse as compared to those with the other variants, according to Vergeire.

The country currently has 12 cases of the B.1.617 variant, including the initial two cases detected from returning overseas Filipinos who arrived from Oman and UAE and have since recovered from COVID-19.

EDV