The Tagbilaran City resident who was the first detected COVID-19 Delta variant carrier in Bohol had no travel history, an official confirmed Tuesday, indicating the occurrence of local transmission of the more contagious variant in the province.
“On paper, maoy siya’y officially registered as first local transmission,” Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) spokesperson Dr. Yul Lopez said in a text message to the Chronicle.
So far, two Bohol residents, one from Tagbilaran City and one from Candijay, were confirmed on Sunday to have contracted the Delta variant.
However, authorities clarified that both have recovered after being infected in July. The genome sequencing results of their swab samples, which were submitted to the Philippine Genome Center last month, were released only on Sunday.
According to Tagbilaran City Health Office (CHO) chief Dr. Jeia Pondoc, the Tagbilaran City resident who contracted the Delta variant is a resident of Barangay Ubujan but is working outside of the city.
He was tested after he was identified as a first-generation contact of a COVID-19-stricken individual.
Pondoc assured that full contact-tracing operations were conducted even prior to the confirmation that the Tagbilaran resident was infected with the Delta variant.
The COVID-19 patient was also confirmed to have been living alone in the city, while his family tested negative for the disease.
According to Candijay Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Jeryl Fuentes, the COVID-19-stricken Candijay resident who is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was not in Bohol when infected with the Delta variant.
“Awahi na kaayo ng resulta sa genome sequencing, nahumana og quarantine ning mga nanggi-positive…so didto gyud na siya sa Clark wala sa Bohol,” said Fuentes.
The OFW tested positive on July 23, 2021 while under quarantine after arriving at the Clark International Airport in Pamgpanga on July 17, 2021.
The person, who was then asymptomatic, underwent an 18-day quarantine before given clearance by the Bureau of Quarantine.
Deemed fully recovered, the individual was allowed to travel to Bohol on August 3, 2021. (with R. Tutas)