Passenger from PH possibly contracted new COVID variant in HK — Duque

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. (Screengrab from Kapihan sa Manila Bay video interview)

MANILA, Philippines — It is possible that the female passenger from Manila who was detected with the new COVID-19 variant in Hong Kong contracted the virus there, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday.

While noting that it needs further validation, Duque said there was a 10-day difference from when the passenger left the Philippines and tested positive for the new variant in Hong Kong.

“When she left, she was tested negative and on I think Jan. 2, 10 days after she arrived in Hong Kong, she tested positive,” Duque said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed coronavirus model is seen in front of a stock graph on display in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

“So that’s 10 days in between from the time she left and then the time she arrived in Hong Kong when she tested positive. So you can readily just speculate that it’s possible she might have contracted it there,” he added.

The 30-year-old female from Cagayan Valley left the Philippines for Hong Kong on Dec. 22 where she underwent quarantine upon arrival, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday in a statement.

On Jan. 2, she underwent a swab test and was found positive for the new COVID-19 variant.

The new COVID-19 variant has yet to be detected in the Philippines, the DOH said, citing a study of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) on the genome sequencing on samples of passengers from countries with reported cases of the new variant.

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