La Union, known for surfing spots like this beach in San Juan town, recorded its first case of the highly contagious Omicron variant of coronavirus Tuesday. | PHOTO: Willie Lomibao
SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union–This province reported its first patient with Omicron variant of coronavirus on Tuesday.
The patient, a 37-year-old overseas Filipino worker, returned to Balaoan town on Jan. 5, the Department of Health said.
In a statement, Balaoan Mayor Aleli Concepcion said the patient had been vaccinated fully against COVID-19.
The patient has no known close contact and is under strict quarantine restrictions, Concepcion added.
Before flying back to the country from the United States, the patient had tested negative for COVID-19 via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on Dec. 16, 2021.
The patient arrived on Dec. 18 in the Philippines and started showing COVID-19 symptoms on the third day of his isolation in Manila and underwent another RT-PCR test, which turned out positive, said Concepcion.
The mayor said the patient had “clinically recovered” after completing the mandatory isolation period.