Pudtol locks down to control coronavirus

The municipality of Pudtol, Apayao has declared a lockdown despite the recovery of a young Covid-19 patient from the Delta variant.

Pudtol Mayor Hector Reuel Pascua on Saturday said the strict measure is meant to scuttle the feared spread of the more transmissible Delta variant in the municipality as an aggressive mass testing and heightened contact tracing efforts are now in place.

“The recovered patient has a travel history in Baguio, while the patient’s mother from Tabuk City, Kalinga also tested positive but not for the Delta variant. The others who tested positive, including a sibling, experienced mild symptoms,” Pascua told Daily Tribune.

The Apayao Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force confirmed the lone Delta variant case after verification from the Philippine Genome Center on Friday.

The recovered patient was infected last month.

Apayao Governor Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, meanwhile, assured that the situation in the province is under control. She appealed to the Apayao residents to be vigilant and strictly follow health protocols.