Placing Kamuning under lockdown has no basis, says QC Mayor Belmonte

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday said there is no basis for putting Barangay Kamuning under lockdown after the discovery of the new coronavirus variant infecting a resident in the area. 

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, Belmonte clarified that the patient did not reach his residence in Kamuning upon his arrival in the Philippines as he was brought straight to an isolation facility.

"Una sa lahat, Kamuning in fact has the lowest numbers of COVID-positive patients at the moment. Since hindi naman lumapag sa barangay, hindi naman siya umuwi at di pa lumalabas 'yung resulta ng BHERT (barangay health emergency response teams) na positive sila, although quarantined na sila ngayon, wala pa tayong sapat na batayan na i-lockdown 'yung Barangay Kamuning," Belmonte said.

"Hindi na po siya bumaba sa Barangay Kamuning. Siya po ay diniretso sa isolation facility," Belmonte added.

The Department of Health said the patient is a male person who left for Dubai on December 27 for business purposes and returned to the country on January 7 aboard Emirates Flight No. EK 332.

According to Belmonte, the city government is waiting for the COVID-19 test results of those individuals, including barangay health workers, who had direct contact with the patient.

She added that the local government is practicing "active case finding" among residents to detect those who are infected with the virus.

"Active na tayo magte-test, hindi na tayo maghihintay ng may sintomas," Belmonte said.

Since news about the new coronavirus variant broke out, Belmonte said she already instructed barangay officials to monitor the health condition of Filipinos returning from abroad.

"At the moment, ang instructions ko naman po sa Quezon, mula pa nang malaman natin na may bagong variant, ay maging alerto na po sila. Heightened alert na po," Belmonte said.

"Kailangan i-monitor nila lahat ng balikbayan sa kani-kanilang barangay. Number one po 'yan," the mayor added.

Earlier reports said the new coronavirus variant is more infectious but does not appear to make the illness more severe. However, a more transmissible virus means more cases as a result. —LBG/RSJ, GMA News