MANILA, Philippines — The room companion of the 35-year-old Cebu patient, who tested positive for the more contagious variant of Covid-19, was checked for B.1.1.7., Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said Friday.
Belmonte said the two live as bed-spacers in Riverside, Barangay Commonwealth, and testing the Cebu patient’s roommate is part of the protocol to determine if the person has also contracted SARS-CoV-2, and specifically the UK variant (B.1.1.7) of the new coronavirus.
“There are two individuals, including the index case [Cebu patient], we have tested the second individual and we brought him to quarantine and his results have been forwarded to the Philippine Genome Center [PGC] to check if he is positive for the B.1.1.7 variant as well,” Belmonte told ABS-CBN News Channel when asked about the living arrangements of the Cebu patient.
The Quezon City government on Thursday announced it will conduct intensive contact tracing and testing within the Riverside community, where the Cebu patient underwent home quarantine.
The patient, who hails from Liloan, Cebu, is a former Overseas Filipino Worker in Korea. He underwent a swab test in Pasay City last January 17 and was later found positive for SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.
His samples were then sent to PGC to determine if he contracted the more infectious UK variant. This screening also yielded a positive result.
He was placed under quarantine in a hotel in Manila City, but his manning agency transferred him to the Quezon City house on January 21.
The Quezon City government found out about it and has since transferred the Cebu patient and his companion to the local government’s isolation facility.
Belmonte said the local government will file charges against the Cebu patient’s manning agency for transporting him to Quezon City without informing city authorities – a violation of health protocols.
To date, the Philippines has 25 cases of the UK virus variant, including the Cebu patient.