(Image from the Municipality of Bontoc Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — Eleven of the 12 patients in Bontoc, Mountain Province who tested positive for the more infectious Covid-19 variant have already recovered, Mayor Franklin Odsey said Thursday.
“Not all of them are hospitalized. 11 of them have recovered and are continuing their home quarantine and one is still in the hospital,” Odsey, who himself has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently in isolation, said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.
Five barangays in Bontoc, where cases of the Covid-19 B.1.1.7 variant were reported, have been placed on lockdown since January 18.
Odsey said the local government unit (LGU) has established checkpoints as part of measures against the spread of Covid-19.
He said the Department of Health (DOH) has also sent additional contact tracers to Bontoc following the detection of the 12 cases of the virus variant.
A mass swab testing is also being conducted, according to the mayor.
He said that so far, a total of 1,157 residents from three affected barangays went through swab testing that started on Monday.
Swab testing has yet to be conducted in the two affected villages.
The LGU has likewise expanded its temporary treatment facility, according to Odsey.
The mayor reminded his constituents to strictly follow health protocols against the spread of Covid-19 especially with the threat of the new virus variant.
“Sa aming mga kababayan (To our constituents), we are asking for their cooperation. Let us follow the basic health standards. Wear masks, wash your hands and maintain distancing. It is for your safety and our safety. If we work as one, we can overcome,” he said.
The DOH earlier confirmed there is already local transmission of the Covid-19 variant in Bontoc, but said there is no strong evidence yet of community transmission in the town.
The health department earlier explained that local transmission happens when a confirmed patient infects another local patient, while community transmission happens when there is an emergence of a large number of cases, occurrence of case clusters in multiple areas, and inability to link cases to known sources of infection.
The 12 cases in Bontoc are among the 17 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant so far detected in the country.