Barangay Baclaran in Parañaque City has closed some of its borders as it recorded its first case of the South African variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), barangay captain Jun Zaide said on Tuesday (March 8).
In a radio interview on DZRH, Zaide said the bank employee who tested positive for the South African COVID-19 variant is currently isolated and is being monitored by the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT). Contact tracing is ongoing.
The barangay chief clarified that no lockdown is in place and that it is only implementing strict regulations in closing off the borders. Out of Parañaque City's barangays, Baclaran still has the highest number of active cases at 67, as of March 8.
Zaide said that the South African COVID-19 variant might have come from Pasay City.
“Well, it might (be), na dahil ang border ng Barangay Baclaran may katabi po kaming limang barangay ng Pasay (It may have been from Pasay City since we are next to five Pasay barangays),” Zaide said.
They are now waiting for the result of eight other samples that were sent for genome sequencing.
Zaide said that the bank employee was renting a place in Baclaran and that majority of the positive cases are from those who are just temporarily living there and are working in hotels and airlines near the barangay.
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