By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The three patients who have been infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Negros Occidental have tested negative for the virus following a re-swab ordered by the provincial government.

Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz said he has received the test results of the patients – 69-year-old woman from Valladolid, 21-year-old man from La Carlota City, and 79-year-old woman from Pulupandan – who have all tested negative for COVID-19.

Diaz said the patients have since been allowed to return home after they were transferred to a quarantine facility while awaiting for the results of their RT-PCR test.

Meanwhile, La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalandoon said the city’s first Delta-related patient originated from the town of Oton in Iloilo province and arrived at Bacolod City’s Bredco Port last August 1.

As per the province’s travel protocol, the patient underwent RT-PCR testing, however, he didn’t have any travel coordination nor did he have any travel documents submitted via the S-PaSS system.

The patient was also discovered to have placed two addresses in his RT-PCR forms, one address in Barangay Ma-ao in Bago City and another in Barangay Haguimit in La Carlota City.

Jalandoon said they received the patient’s test result on August 2 showing that he is positive for COVID-19 and he was immediately moved to an isolation facility.

The patient’s household was also placed on lockdown, however, they would later test negative for COVID-19.

The patient was then re-swabbed on August 12, and this time the result came back negative which paved the way for him to return home, while his swab sample was sent to the Philippine Genome Center which later turned out positive for the Delta variant.

In total, Negros Occidental now has five cases of the Delta variant with one, a nine-year-old boy from Silay City, dying from the illness./DGB, WDJ