The Department of Health discovered more positive cases and emerging clusters in Bontoc, Mountain Province from the new, more infectious B117 variant that was first discovered in the United Kingdom.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the first case in Bontoc was a man who arrived from the UK on December 13. He had a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test before he went up to the province on December 14.
“He stayed there with his relatives, and on December 25, nagkaroon sila ng pagdiriwang (they had a celebration) because its Christmas, December 26 they had a ritual, and then December 29, nagkaroon na sya ng kanyang sintomas (his symptoms manifested), ” Vergeire told reporters on Monday.
The virus spread to 11 members of the community who all tested positive for the new variant. Contact tracing teams identified 144 close contacts of these patients.
Of the 144 close contacts, 116 were tested and 34 were found positive.
Vergeire said there were three clusters in the Bontoc case, which the department is now investigating through the expansion of contact tracing in the area.
“Etong tatlong clusters ng infection natin, nakikita na natin ang pagkakahawa hawa na nangyari sa mga areas na ito… pero hindi pa sya definite as we need to backtrack at baka may iba pang lumabas ng bansa at bumalik sa lugar na ito (These three clusters of infection, we are seeing the transmission that happened in these areas, but this is not definite yet as we need to backtrack and look if there were others who went out of the country and came back to this area),” she said.
The DoH is also investigating the new variant cases in La Trinidad, Benguet, and in Calamba, Laguna.
It also reached out to the patient in Iloilo who returned from Lebanon and was tested for the new variant.