Traveler from UK tests positive for COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — A traveler from the United Kingdom who has recently arrived in the Philippines has tested positive for COVID-19, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced on Saturday.

According to Duque, the patient was among the 79 travelers from the UK who arrived in the Philippines from December 22 to 25.

Of the 79 travelers, 72 arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, while the remaining seven flew into the Clark International Airport.

Two of the travelers have returned to the UK while the remaining 77 have remained in the Philippines, according to Duque.

“Base sa report kahapon, 59 na ang mayroong test results kung saan 53 po ang negative ngunit may isa pong nagpositibo sa COVID at inaantabayanan natin ang 23 na natitirang resulta,” Duque said during the meeting of the Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

(Based on the report yesterday, 59 of the travelers already have their test results wherein 53 tested negative but one tested positive. We are still awaiting the test results for the 23 other travelers.)

Duque, however, clarified that the tests conducted on the travelers were not meant to determine if they were infected with the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that was detected in the UK.

“‘Yung testing po nito hindi nangangahulugan na ito na ‘yung new variant dahil magsasagawa pa po ng pagsusuri ang ating mga eksperto mula sa Philippine Genome Center,” he said.

(The testing conducted does not mean that it is the new variant because experts from the Philippine Genome Center have yet to conduct an examination.)

The government earlier said that flights from the UK to the Philippines are suspended starting December 24 to 31 amid reports of a new coronavirus strain believed to be more infectious.

[ac]