MANILA – A health official on Monday confirmed that one of the six newly detected cases of United Kingdom (UK) coronavirus variant is linked to the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) depot cluster of cases last month.
In an online media forum, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the person is a 46-year-old female who tested positive on Jan. 25 and is undergoing home quarantine in Pasay City.
“[She] tested positive for the variant and connected po siya doon sa cluster ng MRT cases natin, ‘yung MRT-3 employees, kasi ‘yung anak niya was from the MRT, nagtatrabaho doon (she is connected with the MRT cluster cases, the MRT-3 employees, because her child works at the MRT),” Vergeire said.
Last Jan. 27, MRT-3 logged at least 36 Covid-19 infections.
Vergeire said the six cases undergoing verification last week have been found positive for the UK variant. Five of them have been validated. For the sixth case, the DOH is still verifying whether the 49-year-old female from Rizal is a local case or a returning overseas Filipino.
One of the cases is a 20-year-old female who tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan. 12 and is a resident of Mountain Province where she is currently in isolation.
The third case is a 37-year-old male Bukidnon resident but “spent long periods of time” in Metro Manila before testing positive for Covid-19 on Jan. 25.
The fourth case is a 25-year-old female who tested positive for the disease on Jan. 31 and is undergoing isolation in Central Luzon even if her listed address is Dasmariñas, Cavite.
The fifth case is a 47-year-old female from Las Piñas City and arrived in Manila from Morocco last Jan. 12. Vergeire said the fifth case tested positive during the first swab test and had completed the mandatory 10-day isolation.
“A second swab was done again and still the case was positive so she was advised to continue isolating at home,” she added. (PNA)
