Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the provincial government is determining if a couple from London who arrived in Negros Occidental on January 16 and tested positive for COVID–19 have the highly contagious United Kingdom variant.
The Bacolod City government is also waiting for the COVID-19 test results of three persons who were on the Emirates flight from Dubai that arrived in Manila on January 7 with the first Filipino found positive for the UK variant on board, City Administrator Em Ang said.
Meanwhile, Lacson said the couple who came from London arrived in the Philippines on December 30 and in Negros Occidental on January 16, and are now under home quarantine in Pontevedra town.
The couple and their son attempted to board an Air Asia flight on January 2 but were declined because of their country of origin and no established protocol for the new variant yet, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
On January 16, they declared themselves as locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returned to Negros Occidental on board an Air Asia flight, Diaz added.
Lacson said they could face charges for misdeclaring that they were LSIs, and not returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
The couple tested positive for the virus when they were already in Negros and their son tested negative, Diaz said.
The Philippine Genome Center is being asked to determine if samples taken from the couple indicate that they have the UK B.1.1.7 variant, Lacson said.
Meanwhile, they are under strict home quarantine and will not be allowed out, the governor said.
He said they were not transferred to the EB Magalona Healing Center to prevent the spread of the possible UK variant.
Legal action will be taken against persons entering Negros Occidental who provide wrong information, especially about their point of origin, he said.
The UK variant is associated with a higher viral load, meaning a greater concentration of virus particles in patients’ bodies, possibly contributing to increased transmission.
Lacson said ROFs with the UK variant are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine in Manila even if they test negative before their return to their home provinces.
All returning LSIs to Negros Occidental are swabbed for COVID-19 and are quarantined until their negative test results are released, he said.
However, the national government rule for ROFs is that they do not need to be swabbed again on their return to their home province if they test negative in Manila.
Lacson, however, is appealing to the ROFs arriving in Negros Occidental to voluntarily agree to be tested again for the safety of the public and their own families,
IN BACOLOD
Meanwhile, three persons who were on the Emirates Flight from Dubai who arrived in Bacolod City are under strict home quarantine until their COVID-19 test results come out, Ang said.
The results are expected to be released today and if any of them test positive, their samples will be sent to the Philippine Genome Center to determine if they have the UK variant, she said.
Two are Bacolod residents from barangays Estefania and Mansilingan and one from Batangas is presently staying in Barangay 2, Ang said.
An EB Magalona resident who was on the same flight has already tested negative for the virus, Mayor Marvin Malacon said Tuesday, January 19.
Meanwhile, six other ROFs returned to Negros Occidental on January 18, and a Talisay City resident who arrived from US Virgin Islands has tested positive, Diaz said.*