DOH affirms details on 5 new cases of UK Covid-19 variant; 1 linked to MRT-3 depot cluster

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday confirmed details on five new cases of the UK coronavirus variant and said one of them is linked to the Covid-19 cluster in the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) depot office.

DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said the five are among the six additional cases of the UK Covid-19 variant who were earlier subjected to verification of whether they were local transmissions or returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).

“Of the six new individuals detected with the variant, five of them were already verified,” Vergeire said in an online press briefing.

Vergeire said one of them is a 20-year-old woman and resident of Mountain Province who tested positive for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, last January 12.

Vergeire said the woman was initially tagged as a case in Metro Manila because she underwent a swab test in the region as she was planning to leave the country.

The patient, however, has since returned to Mountain Province where she is currently in isolation.

“The second is a 46-year-old female from Pasay City, tested positive for the variant and connected po sa cluster ng MRT-3 cases natin, ‘yung MRT-3 employees, kasi ‘yung anak nya was from the MRT, nagtatrabaho doon,” Vergeire said.

She said the patient tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on January 25 and is on home quarantine.

The third case is a 37-year-old man with a reported address in Bukidnon, but a case investigation showed he “spent long periods of time” in Metro Manila before he got Covid-19, according to Vergeire.

She said the patient tested positive for the coronavirus on January 25 and is now likewise in isolation.

The fourth case is a 25-year-old woman whose listed address was Dasmariñas, Cavite.

She tested positive for the virus on January 31 and is undergoing isolation in Central Luzon.

Vergeire said the fifth case is a 47-year-old woman from Las Piñas City and arrived in Manila from Morocco on January 12.

“The initial swab collected on this date turned out to be positive and the case completed the required 10-day isolation. A second swab was done again and still, the case was positive so she was advised to continue isolating at home,” Vergeire said.

Meanwhile, DOH is still verifying if the sixth case, a 49-year-old male from Rizal, is a local case or returning Filipino from overseas, according to Vergeire.

In January, the Department of Transportation said 36 personnel of the MRT-3 depot in Quezon City, including one who later died, and six personnel from the railway’s maintenance service provider Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

The country has so far confirmed a total of 44 cases of the more transmissible UK Covid-19 variant.

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