Delta variant cases balloon, now eight
All of them are asymptomatic. They are now under monitoring until they complete their 14-day quarantine
The Philippines now has eight active cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant after recent victims initially tagged as recovered tested positive, the Department of Health (DoH) said Tuesday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said of the eight active Delta variant cases, four are in Cagayan de Oro, one is in Manila, another one in Misamis Occidental and two are returning overseas Filipinos.
“All of them are asymptomatic. They are now under monitoring until they complete their 14-day quarantine,” Vergeire said in a virtual media briefing.
Earlier, the DoH said that of the 16 cases of highly transmissible Delta variant, 11 of have been classified as local cases. The remaining four are returning overseas Filipinos.
She said the 16 recent cases who were initially tagged by their respective local government units as recovered were retested after the DoH reported that some of them are still positive with Covid-19.
The DoH also reported that of the 35 cases of Delta variant in the country, three have already died from the dreaded lung disease.
Previously announced Delta-related deaths was a 63-year-old male crew member from the ill-fated MV Athens Bridge who died on 19 May.
The second reported Delta-related death was the 58-year-old female local case from Pandacan in Manila who died on 28 June.
The third fatality was the 78-yearold woman from Baybay in Antique was initially reported as recovered but upon validation with her local government unit, the patient had died on 30 May.
Contact tracing of local cases
Vergeire said as of 19 July, a total of 91 individuals have been identified as close contacts of the Delta variant carriers, of which eight are in the National Capital Region (NCR).
She noted that the health department is waiting for the contact tracing report of the city of Manila.
“We know that Mayor Isko said they were able to trace about 36 individuals,” she added.
NCR Covid-19 situation
Despite the detection of local cases of the feared Delta variant in the country, the official said NCR remains under the low-risk classification.
“The NCR is still considered as a low-risk area but it is not something to be complacent of, especially since we are now seeing slight increase in cases in different parts of the NCR,” she said.
She also added that the agency is also seeing a “slight” uptick in the number of individuals being admitted to hospitals due to Covid-related illnesses.