MANILA – At least 38 close contacts of the 12 patients in Bontoc, Mt. Province who were found to be carriers of the more transmissible UK variant have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
According to Health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, they have located and tested 144 close contacts of the early reported cases, and 38 of which were “tested positive for COVID-19 but not for the UK variant.”
Vergeire also noted that four household members of the UK variant case in La Trinidad, Benguet also contracted the virus. It was not immediately clear if their samples underwent genome sequencing. Authorities have traced 97 contacts.
Meanwhile, five barangays in Bontoc – Tocucan, Bontoc Ili, Caluttit, Poblacion, and Samoki – are currently on lockdown and strict quarantine due to the threat of the new coronavirus variant, the DOH said.
Authorities earlier announced that the UK variant of COVID-19 has been detected in 16 patients in the country in addition to the index case of the 29-year-old male in Quezon City.
Of the 16 patients, 12 were from Bontoc, Mountain Province; one from La Trinidad, Benguet; one from Calamba, Laguna; and one from Binangonan, Rizal.
Vergeire, however, said the DOH has yet to identify if these cases are linked to the Quezon City case./PN
