Suspected UK variant carriers in Negros now 4

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — There are now four suspected carriers of the UK variant of COVID-19 in Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson reported yesterday.

Two of the four returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) include a couple from Pontevedra town, who came from the UK and tested positive for the virus upon their arrival at the Bacolod-Silay International Airport on Jan. 16.

Two others are residents of Talisay and Bago, who arrived from the US Virgin Islands and Egypt.

Lacson said the couple from Pontevedra underwent re-swabbing as the test kits that were used on them were intended for locally stranded individuals (LSIs) only.

Both are facing legal action for misdeclaring that they were LSIs.

The samples taken from the four OFWs were sent yesterday to the Philippine Genome Center in Manila for validation.

The couple are quarantined at the town’s facility and are waiting for the results of their second swab test.

The UK variant or the B117 strain is more infectious compared with the first strain, according to health experts.

Lacson said the provincial government would always require OFWs to undergo swab test upon arrival at the airport even if they tested negative in Manila.