THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported that at least two cases of the B.1.617 (India) variant have been detected in the Philippines.

Dr. Alethea De Guzman, DOH chief epidemiologist, said the two cases, who are both overseas Filipino workers with no history of travel to India, are now asymptomatic after recovering from COVID-19.

“Yung ating dalawang kaso have been filed as recovered. They are currently asymptomatic,” she said

One case is a 37-year-old male who arrived from Oman on April 10. He was released from isolation in Metro Manila after recovering on April 26. He was found negative for COVID-19 in a repeat test on May 3 and is currently in Soccsksargen.

The other case is a 58-year-old male who arrived in the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates on April 19. He was released from isolation in Clark after being tagged as a recovered COVID-19 case on May 6. He is currently in Bicol.

The DOH official added that neither case had close contacts as they were immediately quarantined upon arrival.

“Wala tayong nakitang close contacts after they arrived here, put in a quarantine, and then finished their quarantine and isolation,” she said.

De Guzman also assured that some of the passengers on the patients’ flights have tested negative for COVID-19. The DOH will verify the status of the other travellers.

The DOH has yet to confirm if any of the five other inbound travelers who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month are also carriers of COVID-19 variants detected in other countries.

De Guzman confirmed the detection of the two cases a day after the World Health Organization classified B.1.617, which was first discovered in India, as a variant of concern at the global level.

On Monday, B.1.617 became the fourth coronavirus variant to be classified as one “of concern,” joining the variants first detected in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7), South Africa (B.1.351), and Brazil (P.1).

WHO defines a variant of concern as one associated with increased transmissibility or “detrimental” change in COVID-19 epidemiology, increased virulence, or decreased effectiveness of health protocols, diagnostics, vaccines, or therapeutics.

The India variant was cited as “double mutant” because of the presence of two notable mutations in the spike protein of the virus, which are said to allow the virus to easily gain entry into the human body and multiply faster. It has several mutations, including the E484Q and L452R.

The first notable mutation, E484Q, which is similar to E484K (called as “Eek”) has been dubbed an “escape mutation” as it helps the virus get past the body’s immune system. The other notable mutation, L452R, was found by a Californian study to be an efficient spreader.

The DOH reiterated that Filipinos need to continuously observe health protocols such as the wearing of face masks and face shields in public places and frequent hand washing to curb the spread of the virus.