The Quezon City government has "strongly denounced" the decision of the municipal government of Arayat in Pampanga to bar residents of Quezon City from the municipality after the United Kingdom variant (B.1.1.7) was detected from a QC resident.

In a statement Monday, the city government said, the municipality's "decision is totally without basis" and "can cause undue panic, and is tantamount to discrimination." It also said that the municipality of Arayat "obviously did not refer to official news reports and health experts."

The QC LGU detailed why the public should not be alarmed by the UK COVID-19 patient:

• "The traveler who tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 did not set foot in Quezon City at any time upon his return to the country from Dubai last January 7."

• "The said patient stayed in a quarantine hotel as part of the 14-day mandatory quarantine period. He was tested on January 7 upon arrival. The day after, it was confirmed he was COVID-19 positive. His sample was sent to the Philippine Genome Center. On the night of January 13, the city government and the city health department were informed by the DOH that he has the so-called United Kingdom variant. Since January 8, he has been staying at a facility where he remains up to this day for treatment."

• "A total of 143 individuals who are considered contacts have been identified, quarantined and are closely being monitored. Among them are 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 he was tested positive for the virus."

• "All but one of the traveler’s eight close contacts are now in quarantine while awaiting their test results while there are  intensified efforts to contact the last one."

The city government called on the officials of Arayat "to reconsider its earlier order" and allow the city residents "to enter its jurisdiction."