Philippines reports 19 new UK COVID-19 variant cases, total now at 44

The provincial government of Ilocos Norte is conducting thorough contact tracing to identify people exposed to an OFW who tested positive for the new UK variant of COVID-19 after returning from Bahrain.

The patient was deemed recovered and completed quarantine in Manila before traveling to Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, where at least one passenger with whom they traveled is now under isolation.

As of February 12, the DOH reported 19 new cases of the UK variant, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines to 44.

The additional cases were part of a batch of 718 samples sequenced by the Philippine Genome Center and include three active cases from Davao Region with mild symptoms and two cases from CALABARZON.