MANILA, Philippines — Genomic samples from the Philippine Genome Centre (PGC) have shown that there is a community transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday.
Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire echoed the earlier statement of PGC Executive Director Dr. Cynthia Saloma who said that there is already community transmission of the Delta variant in the country.
“Base po doon sa nakukuha nating samples and the results coming from the Philippine Genome Center, mukhang yan po talaga ang pinapakita no, that the community transmission is there,” Vergeire said in a public briefing, referring to the Delta variant.
(Based on the samples and results coming from the Philippine Genome Center, it appears that the community transmission of the Delta variant is already here.)
“[We just need] enough evidence, so we can officially declare,” Vergeire added.
“But definitely, the government has already pursued actions when it comes to this transmission level,” she went on.
The country posted a record-high 17,231 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, which increased the total number of recorded infections to 1,807,800 since the pandemic broke out in March last year.