Health workers attend to patients at the chapel of Quezon City General Hospital and Medical Center (QCGHMC) on Thursday, August 19, as it converted the chapel into an intensive care unit (ICU) ward as a response to the increasing number of severe COVID-19 cases. INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday reported the detection of 466 more cases of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant, adding that community transmission of the variant has been identified in the National Capital Region and Calabarzon.
According to the DOH, 442 of the new Delta cases are local cases, 14 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROF), while 10 cases are currently undergoing verification to determine whether they are local or ROF cases.
“The total Delta variant cases are now 1,273,” the DOH said.
Below is the breakdown of the 466 Delta variant cases:
NCR – 201
Central Luzon – 69
Cagayan Valley – 7
Calabarzon – 49
Mimaropa – 14
Bicol Region – 4
Western Visayas – 52
Central Visayas – 19
Northern Mindanao – 6
Davao Region – 11
Soccsksargen – 7
Ilocos Region – 3
The DOH added that most of the recorded additional Delta variant cases have already been tagged as “recovered,” the DOH added.
“[O]ne is still active, eight cases have died, while 457 cases have been tagged as recovered. All other details are being validated by the regional and local health offices,” it said.
Community transmission
The DOH also said that it has identified community transmission in NCR and Calabarzon.
“The DOH clarifies that the government needs further evidence to support the announcement of the whole country to have community transmission of the Delta variant. However, community transmission was identified in Region IV-A and in NCR,” it said.
The DOH said the identification of community transmission of the Delta variant in NCR and Calabarzon was based on the the “large numbers of Delta cases” and the “case investigations and phylogenetic analysis” which showed that these cases “cannot be epidemiologically linked to each other nor source/s of infection determined.”
“Analysis of the latest sequencing results for the determination of community transmission is ongoing for other regions. The DOH, the national government, and the local government units however have since responded as if there is already community transmission,” the DOH added.
Other variants
On the other hand, the DOH also reported 90 additional cases of the Alpha variant, 89 of which were local cases while another one is “currently being verified if this is a local or ROF case.”
“Based on the case line list, one case is still active, one case has died, and 88 cases have been tagged as recovered. The total Alpha variant cases are now 2,322,” the DOH said.
For the Beta variant, the DOH logged an additional 105 cases, 101 were local cases and 4 cases were ROFs.
“Based on the case line list, four cases have died, 99 cases have been tagged as recovered, and two cases with outcomes that are being verified. The total Beta variant cases are now 2,588,” the department added.
The DOH also recorded 41 additional P.3 variant cases, all of which were local cases.
“Based on the case list, 40 cases have been tagged as recovered while one case has an outcome that is being verified,” the DOH said.
According to the DOH, a total of 746 samples submitted by 62 collecting institutions and different Centers for Health Development were sequenced.