DOH verifying test results of 13 co-passengers of OFW with India COVID variant

Facade of the DOH main office in Manila. INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) is verifying the test results of 13 co-flight passengers of a returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who tested positive for the COVID-19 variant first detected in India.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Wednesday that the individuals flew with the 37-year-old Filipino seafarer who arrived in the Philippines from Oman on April 10, and tested positive for the B.1.617 variant.

“Meron tayong labingtatlong pasahero na tinitingnan at bine-verify natin kung ano ang naging resulta ng kanilang mga RT-PCR when they arrived here,” she told CNN Philippines.

(We are verifying the RT-PCR test results of the 13 passengers when they arrived here.)

Meanwhile, Vergeire said that the DOH is still trying to get the flight manifest of the other 58-year-old OFW who arrived in the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates on April 29.

Dr. Alethea De Guzman, director of the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau, earlier said that there are no identified close contacts for the two travelers outside of their flights since they were immediately quarantined upon arrival to the country.

Both cases have already recovered from COVID-19, according to DOH.

Vergeire earlier said that based on initial information, most of the passengers who sat near the OFW from Oman have already tested negative for COVID-19 after their arrival in the country. She said health authorities are now checking if they have completed their quarantine.

JPV