One case of the Delta variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Quezon City, the City Public Information Office (PIO) reported on Monday.
The PIO said the patient is a 34-year-old male Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who arrived in the country from Saudi Arabia on June 24.
Upon his arrival, the male patient stayed in a hotel in Makati for 10 days.
On June 28, he had a “slightly itchy throat” and underwent a swab test two days later.
The patient was transferred to a hotel in Manila on July 4.
Seven days after, on July 11, he was considered recovered and was allowed to go home to his family in Quezon City on July 11.
After receiving the sequenced sample of the male patient on Sunday (July 25), the Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) immediately scheduled a swab test on the OFW and his close family and contacts on July 26.
The patient and his family have been placed under “strict home quarantine” since Sunday night, according to the PIO.
“He will undergo another swab test, along with his family, as part of our protocol even if he is considered a recovered patient. We are doing extensive contact tracing on his close contacts just to make sure,” CESU head Dr. Rolly Cruz said.
Mayor Joy Belmonte assured the public that the local government can handle the Delta case that was detected in the city.
“We have put in place extensive measures in preparation for the Delta variant and we continue to exert all effort to contain its possible spread. What is important is that we are intensifying testing and aggressive contact tracing,” Belmonte said.
Meanwhile, a male working in a Quezon City factory, but living outside the city, also tested positive for the COVID-19 Delta variant.
CESU said contact tracing and swabbing are being done in his workplace.
“There are no reported cases yet at his place of work but we are doing this as a preventive measure to make sure we contain any possible transmission this early,” Dr. Cruz said.
The factory worker tested positive for COVID-19 on July 5, a day after he experienced symptoms such as shortness of breathing, colds, fever, and sore throat.
He was discharged from the Philippine General Hospital on July 18 after 13 days of stay.
The male factory worker’s pregnant wife also tested positive for COVID-19 on July 9 but was asymptomatic. She tested positive for the second time on July 17.
Both the factory worker and his wife were placed in a quarantine facility in another city, and will stay there until the end of July, the QC PIO said.