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MANILA (TO UPDATE) – The new and most communicable variant of coronavirus first reported in the UK was detected in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday night.
“Following the strengthening of bio-surveillance and border control efforts, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) officially confirm the detection of B.1.1.7 today. SARS-CoV-2 variant (UK variant) in the country after samples from a Filipino arriving from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 7 yielded positive genome sequencing results, ”said DOH it’s a statement.
DOH said the male patient is a Quezon City resident who left for Dubai for business purposes on December 27 and returned to the Philippines on January 7 via Emirates flight number EK 332.
He was immediately cleaned and quarantined in a hotel upon arrival in the country.
“The positive test result was released the next day and the patient was referred to a quarantine facility in Quezon City while his samples were sent to the PGC for whole genome sequencing,” DOH said.
According to the agency, he was with his female partner during the trip, but she tested negative for COVID-19. Despite this, he is now under “strict quarantine and monitoring.”
The DOH said the couple had no exposure to COVID-19 prior to their trip.
“The immediate contact tracing was done in close coordination with the QC government, and the initially identified contacts are asymptomatic and are currently under strict home quarantine,” he added.
He said he is working with the local government of Quezon City to “ensure that timely and effective measures are implemented to mitigate transmission.”
The Philippines has imposed travel restrictions until Friday on foreigners coming from the United Kingdom, the United States, China and several other areas where the new variant has been reported.
Filipino citizens arriving from those territories are exempt, but must undergo mandatory quarantine upon arrival.
The Philippines has recorded a total of 492,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of Wednesday, of which 24,478 are active infections.
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