By Daisy CL Mandap
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| The Filipina tested negative in Manila and on arrival in HK, but positive while in quarantine (File) |
The Department of Health in the
Citing a report from the HK International Health Regulations
National Focal Point and the
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But she developed symptoms on Dec 28 while in quarantine at
Ramada Grand View Hotel in Sai Ying Pun, and was found infected after her
second test in
She was added in the list of infected patients on Jan. 4, and was tagged as case no 9003 when reported the next day.
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The DOH report says the Filipina left her hometown in
She left for
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"On January 2, 2021, she underwent RT-PCR testing again
where the swabs tested positive and detected to also be positive for the
The department said the patient “remains in isolation and in stable condition.”
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It did not mention the visa status of the patient, but staff at Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection staff told The SUN on Jan 5 that she is a domestic helper.
Contact tracing of all the 39 other passengers who flew with
her to
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"They have been instructed to ensure strict quarantine of identified close contacts and for samples collected from said contacts to be sent for confirmatory testing and, if samples test positive, subsequent whole genome sequencing," the department said.
Earlier, the DOH said there was another 30-year-old female passenger on the flight, which made it difficult for them to pinpoint immediately who the infected patient was.
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Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also said that the phone numbers of both patients that were listed with PAL could not be reached.
The Filipina was among 15 newly arrived travelers in Hong
Kong found to have the infectious strain
first seen in
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Her case was classified as "imported." Despite this, the DOH has maintained that the new variant, said to be 15 times more infectious than the common strain, had not reached Philippine shores yet.
On Wednesday, the Philippine Genome Center reported that none of the 305 confirmed patients it tested had the new variant.
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| Duque says it's possible the Filipina was infected in HK |
And in a news conference today, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said it was
possible the Filipina caught the virus in
“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 health official did not, however, note that the Filipina had little interaction with people here, as she was immediately put in isolation after arrival, in line with strict
Consul General Raly Tejada says he has contacted Hong Kong Health Secretary Sophia Chan directly to ask for more information about the case, saying the Philippines needs to know how or where the patient might have acquired the variant. Dr Chan reportedly gave assurance that she would provide the information requested.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has said that the ban imposed on foreigners flying into the country from 21 states where cases with the variant had been found, could be lifted after Jan. 15.
The ban did not include Filipinos, who are, however,
required to spend 14 days’ quarantine in a government-designated facility after
testing negative for Covid-19 on arrival in
Aside from Britain and Hong Kong, the list also includes the United States.
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