Kalinga records 4 new UK variant Covid-19 cases

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Four individuals in this province from the municipalities of Rizal, Pasil and the City of Tabuk had been tested positive with the Covid-19 B.1.1.7 or UK Variant.

Identified patients include a 26 year-old male from Liwan West, Rizal, 39 year-old male from Cagaluan, Pasil, 25 year-old female from Bulanao, and 42 year-old male from Appas, Tabuk City.

Cases from Pasil and Rizal were tested positive for COVID 19 on March 5, 2021, while the cases from Tabuk City were reported to be positive on March 8, 2021 by the Baguio General Hospital Medical Center.

Said cases were among the six UK variant Covid-19 cases in the province, of which the first two confirmed cases reported on March 15, 2021 came from Lubuagan. As of this writing, the province has recorded 478 active cases.

With said results, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Edward Tandingan instructed the City and Municipal Health Officers to implement appropriate measures on handling said patients infected with the variant.

Among his recommendations are:

· The CHO/ MHO will determine if the cases in their respective catchment areas have been released from isolation. If released from isolation, identified cases will undergo strict home quarantine pending negative RT-PCR test.

· If in case they are still in a quarantine facility, they will be kept isolated pending negative repeat RT-PCR test at end of their isolation, clinical recovery, and completion of set days of isolation, and if their RT PCR turns to be positive, the isolation process will continue.

· The CHO/MHO will also conduct further investigation to trace back the contacts of the case up to the third generation contacts and take samples for RT-PCR, then put them to strict quarantine for 14 days regardless of the result.

· First generation close contacts shall be strictly placed in a quarantine facility while second and third generation contacts are recommended to be placed in a quarantine facility, however, can be accommodated at home after complying to standards set by the DOH-DILG Joint Administrative Order.

· These contacts shall be required to undergo a repeat RT-PCR test at the end of their quarantine completion and shall be discharged from quarantine if the RT-PCR is negative.

· LGU's concerned are enforced to strictly enjoin the general public to comply with the minimum public health standards/protocols.

· Per recommendation of the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 Variants, cases positive for any variant of concern should have a negative RT-PCR on or after the end of their isolation before they can be tagged as recovered, regardless if they have completed the 10-day isolation period.

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