CNN Philippines (Metro Manila, January 5) — At least 74 returning travelers who tested positive for COVID-19 are now being examined if they have acquired the highly transmissible variant from countries where they came from, the government’s testing czar bared Tuesday.
During the Malacañang briefing, testing czar Vince Dizon said the 74 were among the 3,684 travelers who returned to the country from December 22, 2020 to January 3, 2021.
He said samples of the positive cases were taken to the Philippine Genome Center and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine to detect the new variant through genome sequencing.
Dizon, who also serves as the National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer, said this is only equivalent to a 2% positivity rate but even the 3,610 individuals who tested negative also had to undergo a 14-day quarantine in line with the government’s health protocols.
“Mababa naman po siya (positivity rate), pero hindi po talaga natin kayang itaas ang risk para sa ating mga kababayan dito sa Pilipinas kaya po talaga kahit magnegative ay dapat po nating i-quarantine ang ating mga kababayan ng 14 days,” he said.
[Translation: The positivity rate is low but we cannot afford to increase the risk for our fellow citizens here in the Philippines so even those who tested negative will need to undergo quarantine for 14 days.]
The 74 cases are different from the samples collected by authorities from cases detected in November and December. Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire previously said the data they analyzed from the October samples showed no strain of the new variant. Their findings on samples from November and December will be released by Wednesday or Thursday.
READ: Study on presence of new COVID-19 variant in PH out this week
In his public address on Monday, Duterte threatened to sack airport personnel who are reportedly conniving with some individuals to allow their entry despite travel restrictions.
READ: Duterte warns airport staff allegedly allowing easy entry despite travel ban
Authorities are temporarily banning the entry of foreign travelers from countries and territories that have confirmed cases of the new COVID-19 variant, which first emerged in the UK. The ban will last until January 15, with the United States as the most recent addition to the growing list.
