DOH Identified 615 Close Contacts of UK Variant Cases in Cordillera

During the Laging Handa Press Briefing on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that 615 close contacts of the cases infected with the UK variant in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) have been identified.

“As to contact tracing, ang ating teams sa Cordillera Administrative Region was able to do the contact tracing na among 615 contacts na nakita po nila, first, second and third generation contacts.”

-Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire

Vergeire added there might be other sources of the variant cases in Bontoc as the person who was initially tagged as the source of the variant tested negative of the said variant.  Here’s the statement of Vergeire:

“Puwede ring may iba pa tayong source of this variant cases dito sa Bontoc Province kasi…nailagay sa ating impormasyon na nag-negative yung ating kababayan na umuwi from United Kingdom dito sa variant na ito ng tinest ang kanayang specimen, so we are trying to expand and backtrace the different contacts para makita po natin kung saan talaga galing ang mga variants diyan na to sa lugar na yan.”

-Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire

“They have reviewed the triaging system ng CAR at nakakita rin sila ng walong OFWs or Returning OFs (overseas Filipinos) na bumalik po sa bansa at pumasok na sa lugar na ito. Atin  kukunin ang further details and what were the RT-PCR result of these people so that we can identify kung sino pa ang puwede nating makuha ang detalye kung saan galing ang impeksiyon na ito” Undersecretary Vergeire added.

Furthermore, on Tuesday, the DOH has confirmed the local transmission of the UK COVID-19 variant in Bontoc, Mountain Province, and the department said that there is still no “strong evidence” proving the presence of community transmission.

In addition, among the 13 confirmed UK variant cases in Cordilerra,  12 cases of the UK variant were detected in Bontoc, Mt. Province while one case was detected in the Municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet.

And, due to the UK variant and the increasing number of cases in the Cordillera, the entire region will be placed on General Community Quarantine (GCQ) starting February 1 until February 15.

BLISTT (Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay) mayors also have implemented an advisory requiring Medical Clearance for Inter-BLISTT Travel.

For more updates, check out the Laging Handa Press Briefing on January 27, 2021, HERE.

Related Articles:

The UK COVID-19 Variant is Now in PH, DOH Officially Confirmed

La Trinidad Municipal Hall to Accommodate Issuance of Medical Clearance on Saturday

Sabangan, Mt. Province to Conduct Mandatory Free Mass Testing Tomorrow

Contact Tracing Reveals Some Cases in Baguio Shows Potential Links to UK Variant Cases in Bontoc and LT

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Source: Public Briefing #LagingHandaPH | Jan. 27