MANILA, Philippines — Local health authorities on Friday said they detected 16 more cases of the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus in the country.
This brings the total number of people infected with the B.1.617.2 variant in the Philippines to 35.
The Department of Health said fifteen of the new cases have since recovered while another has died — ten of them were females between the ages of 14 and 79.
The agency also said 11 of the 16 new cases were transmitted locally. Six of these cases are from the Zamboanga Peninsula while another five are returning overseas Filipinos.
Two returning overseas Filipinos had a travel history from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The travel histories of two other returning overseas Filipinos are still being verified by the department.
Metro Manila and Western Visayas accounted for two cases each while Central Luzon recorded one.
Studies suggest that the Delta variant, first detected in India, spreads more quickly and seems to have stronger resistance to vaccines than other forms of COVID-19.
But country’s Food and Drug Administration has stressed that coronavirus vaccines retain important effectiveness against the Delta variant.
The Philippines has the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia, trailing behind Indonesia with 1.49 million cases and 26,314 deaths as of Tuesday.
— Bella Perez-Rubio with reports from Gaea Katreena Cabico and The STAR