The Quezon City government has sent to the Philippine Genome Center the samples of the two neighbors of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who yielded positive swab test results for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Mayor Joy Belmonte said Tuesday.

The two live within the 50-meter radius of the apartment where the UK variant B1.1.7 positive OFW stayed.

They were identified as a 36-year-old male and a 44-year-old female from Riverside, Brgy. Commonwealth, who are both asymptomatic based on their swab test results released on Feb. 11.

“As soon as they turned positive in their swab test, their samples were immediately sent for genome sequencing and the results are expected to be released after several days,” Belmonte said in an interview.

The City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) is conducting more contact tracing for the two neighbors.

The city government earlier said those who turned out positive were immediately brought by the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team/Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (BHERT/ DRRMO) to the city’s HOPE quarantine facility.

Meanwhile, all the individuals that live with the two positive patients have also undergone swab tests even if they do not manifest any Covid-19 symptoms.

The CESU also recommended they stay in the quarantine facilities for 14 days.

The two individuals were included in the 206 persons previously subjected to Covid-19 swab tests.

The city government has identified 342 individuals in the vicinity of the apartment where the OFW stayed, but some of them were considered as third-generation contacts that do not need to undergo the swab test.

Of the 206 persons who underwent the swab tests, eight individuals have manifested Covid-19 symptoms, the city government said. (PNA)