The Iloilo City Government-run COVID-19 testing laboratory has sent specimen samples to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) to determine as to whether the new COVID-19 variants have already reached the city.
According to Mayor Jerry Trenas, the specimens, which will undergo genome sequencing, were from patients who tested positive for the disease over the weekend.
The city logged 14 new cases on Saturday, April 10, of which 11 are close contacts of known COVID-19 patients while the remaining 3 are not identified as close contacts of someone infected with the coronavirus.
“Meaning the causes of transmission are difficult to identify by the contact tracing activity. The virus is present in the community, and we are requesting everyone to be vigilant to avoid being infected,” said Treñas.
The emerging new variants of COVID-19 are believed to be more contagious than the original strain of the novel coronavirus.
The city mayor, meanwhile, said he will not hesitate to request for the upgrade of the city’s quarantine status to general community quarantine (GCQ) from modified GCQ if warranted.
The City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) recorded 112 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from April 1 to 9.
The Uswag Molecular Laboratory in Molo district has been operating since November last year.IMT
