Active COVID-19 cases in Zambales rise to 417

More senior citizens in Subic town, Zambales province get fully inoculated against COVID-19. (Photo courtesy of Subic Municipal Health Office)

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales —Active COVID-19 cases in this province increased to 417 as 19 new infections and 20 recoveries were reported in Zambales on Sunday,  August 8, local health data showed.

Dr. Noel Bueno, provincial health director, said the latest to contract the virus were patients aged 23-71.

Meanwhile, the province’s tally of recovered patients climbed to 3,989 and the death toll stood at 170 with no new fatalities reported on that day.

To date, the province has recorded a total of 4,528 COVID-19 cases since last year.

COVID-19 is a serious respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus first detected in China’s Wuhan province in late 2019.

Since 2020, mutations of the new coronavirus have resulted in various variants such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Theta, and Lambda, among others.

The Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant was first discovered in the United Kingdom, Beta (B.1.351) in South Africa, Gamma (P.1) in Brazil, Delta (B.1.617.2) in India, Theta (P.3) in the Philippines, and Lambda (C.37) in Peru.

So far, the World Health Organization tagged the Delta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as variants of concern or VOCs. INQ