The Apayao Provincial Health Office (PHO) announced that two of its #COVID19 cases are among the newly detected P3 variant by the DOH and the Philippine Genome Center.
The PHO reported that both of the cases are from the Municipality of Conner, a 21 year-old female from Barangay Calafug and a 26 year-old male from Barangay Malama who is a municipal government employee. Both tested positive in March and have been declared recovered already.
The PHO technical working group in coordination with the Rural Health Unit of Conner will conduct re-testing of all line-listed as close contacts of the two cases in order to determine possible cases of P3 variant transmission in the municipality.
The Provincial Inter Agency Task Force is also set to conduct field monitoring in Conner immediately and intensify expanded testing in Barangays Malama and Calafug in the next two weeks.
PIATF Chair, Governor Eleanor Bulut-Begtang advises the public to remain calm and continue adherence to minimum public health standards in view of this development relayed by the PGC.
The province at present has now 51 COVID-19 active cases, the lowest in the entire region in terms of virus infection.
(Source: DOH CAR)