Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles during the Laging Handa press briefing on the update of COVID 19. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 17 Filipinos, but no community transmission has happened so far, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles clarified here Tuesday, June 22.
The 10-day quarantine for these Filipinos, who returned from overseas, proved effective in stopping the spread or exposure to the variant, he said during a press briefing before a regional forum on the accomplishment of the Duterte administration.
Genome sequencing detected the variant, and genomic surveillance continues to be part of the protocol.
“The variant has spread to 80 countries and, in some cases, the Delta variant was more dominant,” he said.
Said to have originated in India, the Delta variant has a transmissible rate of more than 60 percent and affects children, he said.
“Nag-aalala ang Pangulo (The President is worried),” Nograles said, adding that a quick-response plan is being prepared to contain the variant. INQ