THE CITY has recorded its first two cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, the Department of Health-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOH-CAR) said on Wednesday.
In a press statement, the DOH-CAR said the first patient was asymptomatic and tested positive for Covid-19 on December 15 and is a close contact of another Covid-19 patient.
The patient had no travel history outside the city within the last 14 days before the specimen was collected.
The specimen was sent to Philippine Genome Center (PGS) on December 23 for whole genome sequencing (WGS) and was confirmed positive for the Omicron variant on January 15.
Meanwhile, the other case was symptomatic and underwent testing on December 22, which yielded a positive result on December 24.
The sample was sent to the PGC on December 28 and was reported to be positive for the Omicron variant on January 15.
The DOH-CAR said its Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) and the Baguio City government are currently investigating the two cases and tracing all possible close contacts.
The city started to see a surge in cases at the start of the year, after logging below 100 active cases during the holiday season.
From only 294 active cases as of January 6, the city's active case tally jumped to 3,898 on January 17 and 4,033 on January 18.
Prior to the DOH-CAR's confirmation, Mayor Benjamin Magalong earlier said they have assumed that the Omicron variant is already in the city, considering the rapid increase in the number of infections.
Magalong said while the city was recording low cases in December, it took advantage of the improved situation to prepare isolation hubs such as the Baguio Community Isolation Center, in preparation for a possible surge in infections due to the Omicron variant.
He added that they are prepared and are managing the cases well, with most patients categorized as either mild or asymptomatic. ( Liza Agoot)
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