(Eagle News) — Another individual has tested positive for the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
The Quezon City government said the individual was a 35-year-old male who had been quarantined for COVID-19 in an apartment with another.
On February 5, his genome sequencing results showed he contracted the B.1.1.7 variant.
In its release last February 5, the local government said the Department of Health referred to the man who hails from Liloan, Cebu as the eighth UK variant case, whose sample was collected on January 17.
The DOH had tagged the man as an active case with mild symptom.
The local government said it learnt about the UK variant-positive results on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
“It is unfortunate that we learned about this only now,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
According to the QC government, the man is a former Overseas Filipino Worker from Korea, who returned to the Philippines last August 2020 and stayed in Cebu.
On November 17, 2020 he moved to Sucat, Paranaque., and made frequent trips to a manning agency in Malate, Manila.
His last visit to the manning agency was on January 14, after he secured another overseas placement, the local government said.
While waiting for deployment, he rode a taxi and stayed in a hotel in Manila on January 17.
On that same day, he underwent a swab test in Pasay City.
The following day, he was informed that he tested positive for Covid-19 and his sample was sent to the Philippine Genome Center.
“He continued to stay in the same hotel until January 21, and thereafter his agency booked a ride via a ride-hailing app and transferred him to an apartment in Riverside,” the QC government said.
Days after his genome sequencing results, on February 8, he developed a mild cough.
On February 10, his agency arranged another swab test.
His companion was also swabbed.
The QC government said it is now seeking legal advice as to whether the manning agency is liable for not following health protocols.
“This agency placed an entire community at risk by bringing a Covid-19 positive patient to our city, considering that both their agency and the quarantine hotel are in Manila,” the local government said.
She also asked the Bureau of Quarantine why the hotel released the man to the agency several days after he tested positive.
The local government said the male and his companion will be transferred to the Hope Facility today, February 11.
It said contact tracing and testing in a community in Riverside, Barangay Commonwealth is underway.
“We want to make sure that nobody was infected with Covid-19, especially by the much more contagious B.1.1.7 variant,” Belmonte said.
“Their condition will be strictly monitored by our experts, and we assure them that they will be well taken cared of in our facility”, Dr. Rolly Cruz, the QC Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit head, said.
The first reported UK variant case in the country was a QC resident who arrived from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates in the country.
The QC government later said he has already tested negative for COVID-19 but was under strict monitoring.
The DOH later confirmed the UK variant in 16 other COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.