74 overseas travelers tested positive for COVID-19, samples being studied —Dizon

At least 74 overseas travelers have tested positive for COVID-19 as the Philippines imposed restrictions to prevent the entry of the new coronavirus variant, a government official said Tuesday.

Speaking at a Palace news conference, National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon disclosed that the 74 cases arrived in the country between December 22, 2020 and January 3, 2021.

The results of the tests conducted on 3,610 travelers came back negative. A total of 3,684 arrivals were recorded during this period.

“Mababa naman po siya pero hindi po talaga natin kayang itaas ang risk para sa ating mga kababayan dito sa Pilipinas, kaya po talaga kahit na po mag-negative ay kailangan pa rin natin i-quarantine ang ating mga kababayan ng 14 days,” Dizon said.

Dizon added the samples of those who tested positive were sent to the Philippine Genome Center and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine to determine if the new variant is now in the country.

On December 24, the Philippines imposed a travel ban on travelers coming from the United Kingdom over the new variant of the coronavirus that is more transmissible. The new variant was first detected in the UK last September.

The list was soon expanded to include:

• Denmark
• Ireland
• Japan
• Australia
• Israel
• The Netherlands
• Hong Kong
• Switzerland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Italy
• Lebanon
• Singapore
• Sweden
• South Korea
• South Africa
• Canada
• Spain
• United States

The travel restrictions will last until January 15. -MDM, GMA News