Yes, the UK variant of COVID-19 is already present in the Philippines. Scary stuff, especially when you consider that more people are now out and about taking public transportation compared to several months ago.
Worried? Yeah, so are we. That worry is also compounded by the revelation that the mother of an MRT-3 depot employee was recently found, through contact tracing, to have tested positive for the UK COVID-19 variant. The employee and his/her family members appear to be in the clear for now.
In a statement, MRT-3 management acknowledged that the mother of one of its employees had indeed caught the new COVID-19 strain, but clarified that the employee did not tested positive for the virus following multiple swab tests. Look:
“Upon learning on 13 February from the [Department of Health] and [Department of the Interior and Local Government] contact tracer that his mother had tested positive for the UK variant, the MRT-3 employee and two other members of his family underwent a re-swab yesterday, 14 February,” MRT-3 management said.
“Their tests all yielded negative results. His mother has also been released from the quarantine facility on 6 February after completing the required quarantine period, and is now fully recovered.”
The MRT-3 management is no stranger to dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. Last year, the train line had to suspend its operations after 186 personnel tested positive for the coronavirus. And just last month, dozens of depot employees had to quarantine after catching COVID-19, with many more required to undergo RT-PCR testing.
Guys, continue to stay cautious out there—whether you’re driving a car or out commuting via public transportation. There’s no telling how much longer this pandemic is going to last.
