MANILA, Jan 23 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines detected 16 additional cases of the more contagious COVID-19 variant, first found in Britain, bringing the total number of patients with the new strain in the country to 17, the Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday.
The DOH said, 12 of the 16 new cases are from Bontoc town, in the northern Philippine Mountain Province. Of the 12 cases, seven are male and five are female.
Town health officials immediately conducted contact tracing, to contain the spread of the infection. Investigation is also underway to identify these cases’ exposure and travel histories, the DOH said.
Two other patients with the variant are returning Filipinos, who arrived on Dec 29, 2020, from Lebanon.
DOH said, the two other patients are local cases detected in La Trinidad town, in Benguet province, in the northern Philippines and Calamba in Laguna province.
“Both have no known contact to any confirmed case or travel history from outside the country,” the DOH added.
Of the 16 patients, DOH said, three have already recovered, 13 are active cases — three of which are asymptomatic, and 10 are exhibiting mild symptoms.
The Philippines confirmed, on Jan 13, its first case of the new and more contagious variant in a Filipino male, who arrived from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Philippines blocked foreign travellers with recent travel history to 35 countries and regions, until Jan 31, to prevent the new strain from spreading.
The Philippines now has 509,887 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 10,136 deaths.– NNN-PNA
