MANILA - The strict lockdown imposed on 5 villages in Bontoc town, Mountain Province is extended until Sunday, February 7, the local government said.

Barangays Bontoc Ili, Caluttit, Poblacion, Samoki and Tocucan were earlier placed under "enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)-like" lockdown due to the detection of a more contagious COVID-19 variant first reported in the UK.

The 11 remaining barangays of Bontoc is under general community quarantine from February 1 to 28, Mayor Franklin Odsey said in an executive order.

As of Monday, some 410 close contacts of the 12 cases of the more contagious variant were traced, according to Dr. Ruby Constantino, director of the Cordillera Center for Health Development.

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Of this figure, 322 have been tested and 83 were positive for the coronavirus. All are asymptomatic, Constantino told Teleradyo Monday.

Authorities earlier sent 8 samples to the Philippine Genome Center to check for the new coronavirus variants and will send 10 more later Monday, Constantino added.

"Sa ngayon po wala pa po kaming nakukuhang panibang impormasyon na may panibagong UK variant (case) sa aming rehiyon," she said.

(We have yet to receive information that there's a new UK variant case in our region.)

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