THE Provincial Government of Davao de Oro has tested some 300 individuals after two coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients from the province were infected with the B.1.1.7. variant of Sars-CoV-2.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, February 16, the Provincial Government said it was able to efficiently trace the individuals because of the quick response of its Emergency Operations Center personnel in Compostela and New Bataan.
"Aduna pa'y iswab sa mga musunod nga adlaw ug padayong gataas ang listahan sa mga giswab (More will be swabbed test in the coming days)," the Provincial Government said on its official Facebook page.
On February 12, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that three Covid-19 cases from Davao Region tested positive for the B.1.1.7. variant after confirmatory tests were conducted by the Philippine Genome Center.
Davao de Oro confirmed that two of the three cases are from the province -- a 33-year-old male patient from Compostela and a 54-year-old female patient from New Bataan. The other patient, a 10-year-old boy, is from Davao City.
The 33-year-old male patient from Compostela tested positive for the Sars-CoV-2 last January 26. He was brought to the Municipal Isolation Unit in Compostela and remains in quarantine as of February 16 and is already on his 27th day of isolation in the municipality's isolation facility.
Meanwhile, the 54-year-old female patient from New Bataan tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 on January 26. She was brought to the isolation room in Davao de Oro Provincial Hospital-Montevista (DDOPH-Montevista) and on February 2, she was swabbed again and yielded a negative result. She was discharged on February 6 but remains in isolation and had no physical contact with other people as of February 16.
As of Wednesday, February 17, both patients are asymptomatic and are well taken care of.
The two patients have no travel history to places where there were confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 variant of Sars-CoV-2. The new variant has also been known as the UK variant.
The Provincial Government of Davao de Oro said it was informed by DOH-Davao about the two patients testing positive for the new variant on February 13 during an emergency meeting called by the health department.
"Niabot ang results sa ika-24 nga adlaw sa ilang quarantine, lampas sa 14 days nga mao'y standard sa Department of Health. Didto pa nato nahibaluan nato nga ang virus nga mitapot sa duha ka pasyente mao ang B.1.1.7 variant (The results arrived on the 24th day of their quarantine, which is beyond the standard 14-day quarantine required by DOH. It was only then we were informed that the two patients were infected with the B.1.1.7. variant)," the Provincial Government said.
Since being tested positive, the patients' close contacts have already been swabbed and those who tested positive are now in isolation. Those who are symptomatic are being treated. Those who tested negative were quarantined for 14 days.
The Provincial Government re-swabbed all the close contacts (F1) of the patients. They also put in isolation and swabbed all the F2 or those who had close contact with the F1 and the F3 or those who were in close contact with the F2 to make sure that the virus won't spread any further.
Through the contact tracing, they hope to detect other individuals who may have been infected with the UK variant.
The Province also continues to investigate where and how the two patients acquired the virus.
Meanwhile, the Province reiterated that no lockdowns will be implemented in Davao de Oro, as it believes that the real solution against the virus is the immediate identification of the F1, F2, and F3 contacts. This is so that they can also be immediately brought to isolation units for swabbing.
It also reminded residents to adhere to the minimum health standards.
As of 9:38 p.m. of February 16, Davao de Oro has a total of 1,048 Covid-19 cases, but only 235 remain active cases based on the data of DOH-Davao.