The Department of Health has urged fellow passengers of the male patient detected with the UK COVID-19 variant to cooperate with its contact tracing efforts after some of them rejected the agency’s call.
In an interview with DZMM, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said some of the passengers on board Emirates
Flight EK 332 from Dubai to Manila were either not answering calls or can’t be contacted at all.
“Nakausap namin most of these passengers, but some passengers are rejecting our call so sana po ay kausapin nila kami para kami ay mag karoon ng maayos na contact tracing and mabigyan namin sila ng guidance on what they should do (We were able to talk to most of these passengers, but some passengers are rejecting our call. Hopefully, they talk to us so that we conduct our contact tracing properly and that we could give them guidance on what they should do),” Vergeire said.
The Health official said they have also coordinated with the local governments to locate the passengers who have yet to be contacted.
“Pupuntahan din po (natin) kasi we have their addresses (We will visit them since we have their addresses),” she said.
Vergeire meanwhile said the 29-year-old Filipino male patient is being quarantined and monitored in a HOPE community-caring facility in Quezon City.
QC Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Head Dr. Roly Cruz said the patient's X-ray showed that the latter has pneumonia and is already being treated for it.
So far the only symptom that the patient has exhibited is coughing, according to Cruz.