AT LEAST 32 boat passengers from Manila and Dumaguete Cities tested positive in rapid antigen tests conducted upon arrival of the vessel Wednesday night, January 12, at the local port.
They were to undergo confirmatory Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests Thursday, January 13.
The rapid antigen tests were conducted by the City Health Office team in collaboration with the Bureau of Quarantine in line with the City Government's measures to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19 and its new variant of concern-Omicron.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said the 32 passengers who tested positive were part of the total 613 passengers who arrived on board the SMA-2GO vessel with origin Manila and Dumaguete City.
They arrived in Zamboanga on Wednesday, January 12, the first day of the re-imposition of the RT-PCR requirement for inbound travelers who are coming from areas with higher alert level status.
A total of 245 passengers were tested, according to Salazar.
Of the total passengers, 336 are from Jolo, 187 from Zamboanga City, 13 from Zamboanga del Norte, 11 from Sibugay, nine from Lamitan, one from Tawi-Tawi and 56 are with unknown address.
The Jolo-bound passengers were not tested, as they were attended to by personnel of the Department of Health in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (SunStar Zamboanga)