The Department of Health (DOH began its contact tracing among passengers who boarded the same plane with the traveler who tested positive for the new COVID-19 variant in Hong Kong.
This was confirmed by the DOH after receiving the copy of the flight manifest of Philippine Airlines (PAL) on December 22. The health department decided to look for the passengers who took the flight with Case 9003 while waiting for the results of the contact tracing conducted in HK.
The DOH also ordered the Epidemiology and Surveillance Units in Cagayan Valley Region and the National Capital Region (NCR) to execute quarantine, testing, confirmatory testing and genome sequencing as they identify the close contacts of the new COVID-19 variant positive passenger.
Based on the information gathered by the DOH from Hong Kong, Patient 9003 is a 30-year old woman from the Cagayan Valley Region. She is currently isolated and is in stable condition. – PTV News