MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

COVID-19 variant has reached Magallanes: three positive cases confirmed

Samples from the couple were sequenced and finally typified as Delta variant, according to Punta Arenas health authorities

The Delta variant of Covid-19 has reached Magallanes Region, extreme south of Chile. Three cases were confirmed on Wednesday by the regional Health Care office and the labs from the University of Magallanes.

Apparently the outbreak involves three persons, a 37 year old woman who recently returned from Santiago, 29 July, and on descending from the aircraft at Punta Arenas airport first tested a negative PCR.

However given certain symptoms on August 2nd she was again tested and was confirmed positive on 5 August. The second case is her husband, 38, who presented similar symptoms which proved to be positive the following day, 6 August.

Samples from the couple were sequenced and finally typified as Delta variant, according to Punta Arenas health authorities. Apparently both of them have completed the mandatory quarantine.

The third case is another woman, 36, and sanitary personnel are trying to establish an epidemiologic link. In effect the whole amplified family group is being tested, as well as their working places, schools and prep schools, looking for positive cases.

Magallanes health authorities have reiterated the need for local residents to comply with the vaccination calendar and have preventive testing periodically. Since the pandemic was first announced the region so far has reported 29,212 cases of the virus, of which 28,641 have recovered, with a death toll of 493.