UK variant-positive traveler in Hong Kong an OFW —DOH

The traveler from the Philippines who has been detected with the new coronavirus variant is a domestic helper in Hong Kong, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.

"Yes, the HK case is a Filipina domestic helper," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a message to reporters.

Health officials in Hong Kong on Tuesday reported that a traveler from the Philippines tested positive for the new coronavirus variant on Tuesday.

The DOH later on shared information that the case was a 30-year-old woman from Cagayan Valley. She arrived in Metro Manila on December 18 and underwent quarantine in observance of workplace protocols.

On December 19, she took an RT-PCR test for COVID-19, which yielded a negative result.

The traveler departed for Hong Kong on December 22 and again underwent quarantine upon arrival. She took another swab test on January 2 and tested positive for the coronavirus variant initially discovered in the United Kingdom.

The patient remains in isolation and is in stable condition.

The DOH earlier said contact tracing efforts were ongoing as it maintained that the UK variant has not been detected yet in the Philippines.  —Dona Magsino/KBK, GMA News