Returning OFW from Lebanon carrying UK variant now well, but still in Leon, Iloilo — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — The returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from Lebanon who had the UK variant of Covid-19 is already well and has remained in Leon, Iloilo province and not in Jaro, Iloilo City, the Department of Health (DOH) clarified on Tuesday.

Dr. Althea de Guzman, medical specialist at the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, said in an online media forum that the patient was confirmed to have remained in the municipality of Leon after verification by the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU).

“Na-verify natin na ang isa sa kanila (ROFs from Lebanon) ay kasalukuyang nandito sa Leon, Iloilo. We first presented po based on our list or database namin na nasa Jaro, Iloilo City siya. After verification with the RESU, she remained in Leon, Iloilo where she underwent another few days of quarantine after she arrived there,” de Guzman said.

(We verified that one of the ROFs from Lebanon is currently in Leon, Iloilo. We first reported that she is in Jaro, Iloilo. After verification with the RESU, she remained in Leon, Iloilo where she underwent another few days of quarantine after she arrived there.)

The 64-year-old patient in Iloilo is among the two ROFs from Lebanon who tested positive for the more transmissible Covid-19 variant. The indicated address of the other patient, who is aged 47, is Binangonan, Rizal.

Both ROFs are female and arrived from Lebanon to the Philippines via PAL PR8661 last December 29, 2020. They tested positive for Covid-19 on the same date and were placed under isolation.

The patient from Leon, Iloilo was already discharged from isolation last January 9. The health status and current address of the other ROF from Binangonan is being verified. DOH records also showed the latter was discharged from isolation last January 13.

In a statement Monday night, the DOH said that “their specimens were sequenced as part of the more stringent measures imposed on international travelers during the later weeks of December 2020.” Genome sequencing is necessary to identify if the patients had the UK variant known as the B117 mutation.

Contact tracing for the passengers of PR8661 flight is underway. The DOH earlier said that of the 283 co-passengers, four have tested positive for Covid-19 while 228 tested negative. Samples of the four Covid-19 positive patients will undergo genome sequencing. Meanwhile, test results for the remaining 51 flight passengers as well as for 19 crew members are still being verified.

The Bureau of Quarantine is currently coordinating with the Philippine Airlines to generate other personal information for contact tracing, according to de Guzman.

The two ROFs were among the 17 confirmed cases of the UK variant of Covid-19 so far detected in the Philippines.

EDV