MANILA - San Lazaro Hospital is preparing for a possible surge of COVID-19 infections after a new, more contagious coronavirus variant has been detected in the Philippines.

"We've been preparing for this even before the holidays. We were expecting a surge of cases after the holidays," Dr. Rontgene Solante, head of San Lazaro Hospital’s Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Department, told ANC Friday.

"Yes, we are ready for this eventual surge of cases especially the [new] variant is now here in the Philippines."

• UK COVID-19 variant now in the Philippines, says DOH

Health authorities on Wednesday confirmed the presence of the new COVID-19 variant in the country from a 29-year-old man who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 7.

The patient, a resident of Kamuning, Quezon City, tested positive of the new variant, which first surfaced in the United Kingdom. He has pneumonia and is currently under medication.

As the new variant put strain on hospitals in other parts of the world, Solante said they would bolster their infection control measures should a patient be admitted under their care.

"At the moment, based on current evidence, there's no evidence that this new variant of COVID virus entails a different modality of treatment from that of the original [strain]," he said.

"It's still the same the way we care for these patients, the way we're giving the investigational drugs, including the support and ICU. More or less it's totally the same."

To date, the occupancy rate of San Lazaro Hospital has not gone up beyond 50 percent.

"We're still below 50 percent for the past 2 weeks after the holidays," Solante said. "We're monitoring the trend of new admissions in the coming days, especially during the third and fourth week of January."

• PH reports 1,912 new COVID-19 cases; total at 494,605

As of Thursday, the Philippines has logged 494,605 coronavirus cases, of which 9,739 have died from the disease. The nationwide tally includes 459,252 recoveries and 25,614 active cases.

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