(UPDATE) — The new and more transmissible coronavirus variant first reported in the United Kingdom has been detected in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday evening.
“Following strengthened biosurveillance and border control efforts, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) today officially confirm the detection of the B.1.1.7. SARS-CoV-2 variant (UK variant) in the country after samples from a Filipino who arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 7 yielded positive genome sequencing results,” the DOH said in a statement.
The DOH said the male patient is a resident of Quezon City who left for Dubai for business purposes last Dec. 27 and returned to the Philippines on Jan. 7 via Emirates Flight No. EK 332.
He was immediately swabbed and quarantined in a hotel upon arrival in the country.
“The positive test result was released the following day and the patient was referred to a quarantine facility in Quezon City while his samples were sent to PGC for whole genome sequencing,” the DOH said.
According to the agency, he was with his female partner during the trip but she tested negative for COVID-19. Despite this, she is now under “strict quarantine and monitoring.”
The DOH said the couple did not have any exposure to COVID-19 before their trip.
“Immediate contact tracing was done in close coordination with the QC government, and the initially identified contacts are asymptomatic and currently under strict home quarantine,” it added.
It said it is working with the Quezon City local government to “ensure timely and effective measures are in place to mitigate transmission.”
The Philippines has imposed travel restrictions until Friday against foreign nationals coming from the UK, the United States, China and several other areas where the new variant has been reported.
Filipino nationals arriving from those territories are exempted, but need to undergo mandatory quarantine upon arrival.
The Philippines has logged a total of 492,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of Wednesday, of which, 24,478 are active infections.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/13/21/ph-detects-new-covid-variant-doh
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