Four residents of South Africa where the COVID-19 Omicron variant was first detected, who arrived in Negros Occidental last week, are in quarantine and will be tested for COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz assured on Tuesday, November 30.
The four are fully vaccinated, have no COVID-19 symptoms, and were given the green light by the Bureau of Quarantine to enter the province before the ban on travelers from South Africa was imposed.
“We hope we are still safe in the province of Negros Occidental. There is no need to sow fear unnecessarily and spread misinformation again,” Diaz said.
The Philippines has recently banned entry of travelers from South Africa. The Omicron variant poses a “very high” risk globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Monday.
Diaz said the four South African residents entered Negros Occidental before the provincial government received a travel advisory from the national government on Saturday, November 27.
The three South Africans who arrived in Negros Occidental are consultants of a firm operating in the province and have been quarantined in Manapla and La Carlota. They entered the province Nov. 24, 25 and 26, Diaz said.
He said a fourth person from South Africa who entered Negros Occidental with a Bacolod City Travel Pass-Through Permit was tracked down in Pontevedra and has also been quarantined.
One of the four was tested for COVID-19 Tuesday and the others will be tested on Wednesday.*