Passengers on same flight as coronavirus variant patient traced, quarantined —Joy Belmonte

The passengers, who are residents of Quezon City, onboard the same flight as the country’s “patient zero” or first recorded case of the new coronavirus variant in the Philippines are now traced and are already in isolation, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said Saturday.

Last Wednesday, the Department of Health and Philippine Genome Center on Wednesday announced that the UK coronavirus variant has been detected from a Filipino who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on January 7.

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

“Based on the DOH (Department of Health) information, they have already contact-traced majority of passengers in this flight,” Belmonte said during the televised Laging Handa briefing.

“Walo sa mga pasahero ay taga-Quezon City. Sa walo, pito ang na-contact traced — first and second generartion contact tracing. Isa ang nawawala [kasi] mali ang contact info nya... lahat ay na-swab na at isolated na. Hinihintay lumabas ang mga resulta,” she said.

The Quezon City mayor earlier allayed fears that the new COVID-19 variant has already spread in the city since the patient did not roam around his community in Kamuning and that he and his girlfriend were immediately quarantined.

“Nasa isolation facility rin ang girlfriend, na-swab na rin. Waiting for results,” Belmonte said.

She also reiterated that there is no need to lockdown Barangay Kamuning and that its residents should not be discriminated as the patient and his companion were brought directly to a quarantine hotel and eventually an isolation facility upon their arrival.

“We have already contact traced 143 individuals. These are comprised of close contacts nakasama na malapit ng pasyente at second generation contacts —ito naman ang kasama ng close contacts,” Belmonte said.

“Doon sa first generation contacts kasama ang mga pasahero na taga-QC na kasama niya, health workers, staff na nag-alalay at tumulong sa pasyente na pumuntang hotel hanggang isolation facility,” she said.

“More than half of them have already been swabbed, and all of them are already on quarantine. Wala pa pong results,” she added.

The patient’s family members were also tested as a precautionary measure even though they did have any physical contact with the patient, according to Belmonte.

Believed to have first emerged in the UK in September last year, the 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. 

143 close contacts

In total, the QC government has identified and is closely monitoring 143 people considered contacts of the passenger.

According to Dr. Rolando Cruz, head of the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU), 55 of them are first-generation close contacts, or individuals who have been within two meters of the infected person.

These include the more than 30 healthcare workers and barangay workers who assisted and cared for the patient when he was transferred from the quarantine hotel in Manila to the isolation facility in Quezon City after his COVID-19 positive test was released.

All have been tested and are awaiting results in quarantine facilities.

Members of his household were also tested as a precautionary measure despite not having come into contact with the patient after he returned from Dubai on January 7.

His partner who flew in from Dubai with him and tested negative, was also re-swabbed and is currently in an isolation facility.

The DOH is considering as close contacts all the passengers on Emirates flight EK 332. Among these passengers are eight residents of Quezon City.

Cruz said all but one of the close contact passengers were re-swabbed on January 15, and are now under quarantine. 

These passengers were already swabbed once upon returning to the Philippines from the UAE. Local authorities are still looking for that one other passenger.

Meanwhile, 88 other individuals were identified as second-generation close contacts or “contacts of the first close contacts.” Cruz says so far 11 of them have been swabbed. But all were advised to remain under home quarantine for 14 days.

'Patient zero' still recovering

In Rida Reyes’ report on “24 Oras Weekend,” the CESU said the patient is only finishing his antibiotics for pneumonia.

“[A]nytime next week, puwede na natin siya i-test ulit para ma-declared na natin siya as recovered,” Cruz said.

The results of the swab test of the patient’s girlfriend as well as the results of the first and second generation contacts are expected to come out on Saturday.

“Lahat ‘yun napadala na natin sa Philippine Genome Center. Kahapon, natapos tayo sa pag-collect ng swab… mga BHERT, mga tao sa quarantine facility, du’n sa hospital na pinag-x-ray-han niya,” Cruz said.

“Actually, sinama natin ‘yung pamilya niya, no, nai-swab din. Lahat po ‘yun, ok na. Plus ‘yung mga taga-Quezon City na mga pasahero na kasama niya sa flight,” he added. -with Joahna Lei Casilao/MDM, GMA News