DOH says tracing 183 more travelers from South Africa
MANILA – The Department of Health said Friday it was tracking some 183 more travelers from South Africa who arrived in the Philippines between Nov. 15 to 29 as the threat of the Omicron variant persists.
Some 71 out of 254 arrivals from South Africa have been traced, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. Of the total figure, 250 were Filipinos and 4 were foreign nationals, she said.
Sixty-seven travelers have yet to undergo retesting while 3 have tested negative for the coronavirus, she added.
The results of the 3 foreign nationals who arrived in Negros Occidental are pending, Vergeire said.
“The 3 South Africans who arrived in Negros Occidental last Nov. 25 and 26 are all fully vaccinated and are all currently asymptomatic. They are undergoing home quarantine in a rented house and underwent reswabbing on Dec. 1 with pending test results,” she told reporters.
Local governments, Bureau of Quarantine, and Department of the Interior and Local Government have been directed to locate arrivals from red list countries between Nov. 19 to 26, according to Vergeire.
The travelers are required to complete a 14-day home quarantine and undergo retesting if they have any symptoms, the DOH spokesperson said.
The Philippines has placed Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Switzerland under the red list effective Nov. 28 until Dec. 15.
