Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 1) — Mayor Benjamin Magalong confirmed on Monday that a case of the B117 or UK COVID-19 variant was detected in the summer capital.
The city’s first known case is a 30-year-old female who tested positive for the coronavirus last February 12 and recovered on the 23rd, Magalong told reporters. The results from the genome sequencing, which showed she was positive for the more contagious variant, only arrived on the 28th, he added.
The mayor said he is currently not eyeing a lockdown in the city, but assured the public that contact tracing efforts have been intensified.
Local officials are also probing if the patient has links to earlier reported UK variant cases in La Trinidad, Benguet and Bontoc. La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda last week said all individuals in his locality have recovered from the variant.
Baguio City has 260 active COVID-19 cases as of February 28, according to its public information office. This is from a total case count of 5,665, which include 5,300 recoveries and 105 deaths.
CNN Philippines Baguio City-based correspondent Lauren Anuma contributed to this report.
