Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 11) — The Quezon City government said Thursday it is racing to conduct tests and contact tracing after finding out that one COVID-19 patient detected with the more transmissible UK variant is temporarily living in Barangay Commonwealth.
City officials added that they were only informed on Wednesday that the 35-year-old man, initially tagged as a resident of Liloan in Cebu, was staying in an apartment with a companion in Riverside St. in Barangay Commonwealth.
“We are acting very quickly to isolate the two, and to conduct extensive contact tracing and testing in the area. It is unfortunate that we learned about this only now,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement.
The Department of Health reported on Feb. 7 that the 35-year-old patient was found with the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. He was said to have mild flu symptoms. But spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday said they asked for the NBI’s help to check if the patient is still in the country.
The QC LGU said the patient, who is a former OFW from Korea, took a swab test in Pasay City on Jan. 17. The man tested positive for COVID-19 and his samples were sent to the Philippine Genome Center. He was under quarantine in a hotel in Manila until he was transferred by his manning agency to the apartment in Quezon City on Jan. 21.
Belmonte says she is seeking legal advice as to whether the manning agency can be held liable for disregarding quarantine protocols. She also asked the Bureau of Quarantine to determine why the hotel released the man to the agency several days after he tested positive.
“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,” she said.
The patient and his companion will be transfered to a government quarantine facility immediately.
The Philippines has at least 25 known cases of the UK variant.
