A returning overseas Filipino who is a resident of Ilocos Norte tested positive for the COVID-19 UK variant.
On the Facebook page of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, it announced that a 46-year-old returning overseas Filipino resident of Barangay Sulongan, Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte tested positive in the UK variant.
She arrived from Bahrain on January 23 and tested positive and was quarantined in Metro Manila from January 24 to February 7.
She arrived in Ilocos Norte on February 8 and was transferred to the Foyer de Charite Quarantine Facility on February 10.
The official statement also stated that on February 13, the Department of Health informed the man that the resident was positive for the UK variant and was notified to conduct contact tracing.
Contact tracing was immediately carried out and the close contacts of the said resident were identified. They will undergo swab testing.
The said resident has been isolated since he entered the province.
Returning overseas Filipino tests positive for COVID-19 UK variant
The provincial government of Ilocos Norte, on the other hand, ensured that the province strictly enforces the entry and exit policies of residents against the spread of COVID-19.
Last week, the Quezon City local government also conducted contact tracing with those who may have encountered an overseas Filipino worker who tested positive for the COVID-19 UK variant.
According to Francis Adante, officer-in-charge of Barangay Commonwealth, there are 90 families or 342 people in their contact tracing.
This includes 50 formal workers, 15 seniors, 2 pregnant women, and 8 children, he said in an interview with Teleradyo on Friday.
The local government has also conducted a swab test on 105 people.
“To ensure na talagang ma-contain namin ‘yong transmission, nag-request kami ng police para magbantay doon,” he said. “Kasi as per protocol, ‘pag na-swab ‘yong mga tao, hindi sila lalabas habang hinihintay ang result.”
The COVID-19 UK variant patient just came home from Korea on November 17, 2020, and settled in Sucat, Parañaque.
He applied again to work in Taiwan and when his visa was approved, he took a swab test on January 17, 2021.
From the hotel, his agency transferred him to an apartment in Riverside in Barangay Commonwealth on a ride-hailing app.