DOH: Minors among UK COVID-19 variant cases in Bontoc

Some of the 12 cases which were found positive for the UK variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bontoc, Mountain Province were minors as young as 5-years-old and 10-years-old, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

The DOH said that out of the 12 cases in Bontoc, seven were male and five were female while three were aged below 18-years-old and another three were above 60-years-old.

“[A]ng kanilang mga edad ay 3 ay age 18 years. We have cases as young as 5 and 10 years, no, from these 12 cases, and the other three naman po ay over 60 years,” DOH Epidemiology Bureau specialist Dr. Alethea de Guzman said in a live briefing.

Guzman said that 11 of the 12 cases came from one barangay.

“Ang pinakamaagang date na sila po ay nagkasakit ay noong December 31 at sa ngayon nga po patuloy pa po ang kanilang isolation,” she said.

Two barangays in Bontoc were locked down after the cases were detected.

On Friday night, the DOH announced that the UK variant was detected in 16 more cases in the country, 12 from Bontoc, bringing the total to 17. The Health Department said that of the 16, 13 were active cases.

Two of the additional cases are returning overseas Filipinos who arrived from Lebanon while the last two cases are local cases detected in La Trinidad and Calamba City.

The B.1.1.7 variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, was found to be more infectious but it did not make the disease more severe.

Meanwhile, the DOH called on local government units to ensure strict monitoring and compliance to quarantine protocols in their respective localities.

“The DOH also reiterates that non-adherence and incorrect adherence to minimum public health standards are the drivers of transmission and mutation and therefore strongly urges the public to strictly and properly follow the MPHS in all settings,” it said. — DVM, GMA News