DOH confirms 2 Omicron cases in Baguio City

DOCUMENT CHECK Policemen manning border control points in Baguio City spend more time in checking travel and identification documents presented by motorists following the discovery of fake COVID-19 test results used by some travelers to enter the summer capital. —NEIL CLARK ONGCHANGCO

BAGUIO CITY–The Department of Health confirmed Wednesday the presence of the Omicron variant in the city after two patients tested positive for the highly contagious strain of coronavirus recently.

One of the patients was in close contact with a known COVID-19 case and had no travel history outside the city 14 days before the specimen was collected, the DOH in the Cordillera said in an advisory.

The patient, who showed no symptoms, tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 15 last year, and the result of the genome sequencing was released on Jan. 15.

The second Omicron patient experienced COVID-19 symptoms and had no travel history outside the city 14 days before the onset of the illness, the DOH said.

The patient’s specimen was collected on Dec. 22 and was reported positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 24. The genome sequencing result was released Jan. 15.

The Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit said it was investigating these cases and tracing possible close contacts.

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