Local authorities in Zamboanga are hunting down a teenaged woman who recently tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar on Tuesday, July 20 said the 19-year-old woman has gone into hiding before health authorities could escort her from her boarding house on July 18.

The woman is said to be a native of Basilan province and has been renting a room in Zamboanga City. He reportedly fled her place when her swab test came back positive.

“Concealing as well as aiding people with infectious diseases is a violation and is punishable under the law,” warned Salazar.

Meantime, the hunt is also on for three other people, said to be residents of Barangay Vitali who boarded a fish carrier from their village and disembarked at Corcuera Street near the public market in the afternoon of July 16.

The three are on the same boat with another passenger who also tested positive for COVID in Cagayan De Oro City.

“The three passengers are advised to immediately turn themselves in for necessary quarantine procedures and to avoid endangering public health,” Salazar said.

She said the index case is a crew member of an international barge whose routes include Indonesia, a country with confirmed Delta variant COVID-19 cases.

She said the Department of Health (DOH) is still determining if he's infected with the Delta variant.

The index case was allowed to board the fish carrier by its driver after showing pertinent documents but with pending swab test results.

His COVID-19 test result was released when he arrived in this city and relayed to the City Health Office by health counterparts from Cagayan de Oro, according to Salazar.

Fish carriers fall under essential services and are allowed unhampered movement across all borders. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)