BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental is no longer free of the Covid-19 Delta variant, after it was detected on a 52-year-old resident of Talisay City, who is a returning overseas worker, by the Philippine Genome Center, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said yesterday.
Diaz said the ROF, who came from the United Arab Emirates, and his family members were immediately re-swabbed and restricted, after they were informed of the results on Wednesday.
He said the Negrense arrived Aug. 11, after having been quarantined at Seda Hotel from July 20 to 30 and, and at BB Hotel, both in Manila, from July 30 to Aug. 11.
After three weeks of isolation, Diaz said the ROF was issued a certification by the Bureau of Quarantine, attesting that he was fully recovered.
On Aug. 25, he said the Provincial Health Office was informed that the ROF was infected with the highly-contagious Delta variant.
As a standard operating procedure, Diaz said, the ROF was immediately re-swabbed, to check if he and his family members are still infected with the Delta variant.
He added that the ROF was advised to undergo strict quarantine.
The highly-urbanized Bacolod City also logged six Delta variant cases.
With the detection of the Delta variant in Western Visayas, the regional office of the Department of Health-Center for Health and Development said that cases positive for Delta variant should have a negative PCR, on or after the end of isolation, before they can be tagged as recovered.
This is regardless of whether they have completed the 10-day isolation, DOH regional director Adriano Suba-an said in an advisory issued by the DOH-WV-CHD.
The identified first generation close contacts shall undergo 14-day facility-based quarantine and must be tested using PCR, prior to discharge, while second and third generation contacts shall be placed on strict home quarantine, and can only be released once the first generation contacts have fully completed their 14-day quarantine and tested negative on PCR upon discharge, Suba-an stressed.
The DOH also recommended separate facilities for positive Delta cases and their close contacts.*
