Philippines detects 177 new Delta variant cases; total now at 627
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Thursday reported 177 new cases of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, which is tearing through countries in Southeast Asia.
This brought the total known cases of Delta variant in the country to 627, the DOH said in a statement.
Of the new additional cases, 144 are locals and three are returning migrant Filipinos. Thirty cases are still up for validation.
Around 63% or 90 of the new local cases were from Metro Manila. The agency earlier said that Delta variant has been found in all 16 cities in Metro Manila and its lone municipality of Pateros.
The indicated addresses of the other cases are Calabarzon (25), Cagayan Valley (16), Ilocos Region (8), Cordillera Administrative Region (2), Western Visayas (2) and Davao Region (1).
“Based on the case line list, 173 cases have been tagged as recovered, one has died, and three cases are with outcomes that are being verified. All other details are being validated by our regional and local health offices,” the department said.
Of the 372 samples recently sequenced by the Philippine Genome Center, around 48% were Delta cases.
The DOH earlier said that the Philippines is currently at “high risk” for COVID-19 due to the increase in infections, partly driven by more transmissible variants.
Metro Manila and other areas in the country went back into a lockdown last week in an attempt to slow the spread of the Delta variant and ease pressure on the country’s health system.
Other COVID-19 variants
The DOH also reported the detection of 102 Alpha variant cases, 59 Beta variant cases, and 14 P.3 variant cases.
To date, a total of 2,195 Alpha cases, 2,421 Beta cases, and 301 P.3 cases have been found in the country.
“The DOH appeals to our kababayan to immediately isolate upon experiencing symptoms, adhere to isolation and quarantine protocols, and to follow minimum public health standards in all settings,” the agency said.
The Philippines on Thursday reported 12,439 new infections, bringing the caseload to over 1.7 million. Of the total, 5.2% or 87,663 are active cases.
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