MANILA – A Quezon City resident who earlier tested positive for the United Kingdom (UK) variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now free from the deadly virus.
The Quezon City government said the patient yielded a negative result based on his latest reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test, but doctors in his quarantine facility have yet to assess if he can be sent home soon.
Department of Health (DOH) undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, meanwhile, said a thorough assessment, such as a chest X-ray, needs to be done because the patient was previously diagnosed with pneumonia.
Local officials have committed to continue monitoring the patient for at least two weeks after he returns home.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said DOH is seeking the help of the National Bureau of Investigation to contact the patient’s two co-passengers during their flight from Dubai to Manila on Jan. 7.
“We will be providing these two names to the NBI, through the Department of Justice, today para lang mahanap natin. Mas madali kasi silang makakahanap because of their database,” Vergeire said.
Of the 159 passengers on board the Emirates flight, 13 travelers – including the index case detected with the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant first found in the UK – tested positive for COVID-19./PN
