FILE PHOTO: A woman takes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar/File Photo
SAN ANTONIO, Zambales — Residents of nearby Olongapo City are now required to undergo COVID-19 testing before entering this province, authorities said Saturday.
This is after the urbanized city recorded their first two cases of COVID-19 Delta variant on Friday.
Citing the order of Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Zambales police chief Colonel Romano Cardiño said that whether the persons coming from Olongapo City have been fully vaccinated or not, he or she must undergo RAT (rapid antigen test) if they will stay in the province within 24 hours.
If the person will stay for 48 hours or more, negative RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests are required to enter the province.
As of Friday, Olongapo City has recorded 3,047 COVID-19 cases, which includes the two patients who are infected with the more contagious Delta variant.
The Delta is just one of several variants of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus first detected in China’s Wuhan province in late 2019. SARS-CoV-2 causes the serious respiratory illness COVID-19.
Other variants of SARS-CoV-2 include Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Theta, and Lambda. So far, the World Health Organization tagged the Delta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as variants of concern or VOCs.