Delta now most dominant variant in PH — WHO

Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to the Philippines. INQUIRER.net file photo / Cathrine Gonzales

MANILA, Philippines — The highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 is now the most dominant variant in the Philippines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

In a press briefing, WHO country representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said that “the information we have clearly shows that now, already, the Delta variant has emerged as the dominant variant.”

“We know that the most recent data from the Philippine Genome Center, although with limited samples, indicates that more than 70 percent of the current transmission is attributable to the Delta variant,” he added.

The Department of Health (DOH) also earlier said that the Delta variant has already replaced the Beta and Alpha variants as the most common lineage among sequenced samples.

“There is continuous detection of variants of concern in the country. Since its detection in July, the Delta variant cases showed steady increase and has already replaced the Beta and Alpha variants as the most common lineage detected on each sequencing run,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

The Delta variant has been detected in all regions except in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. However, the DOH explained this could be due to the low number of samples being submitted by the region because of transportation issues.

The department has so far confirmed a total of 1,789 Delta variant cases in the country, including 38 that remain active as of August 27.

The country currently has 148,594 active COVID-19 cases, including 22,366 new infections on Monday—the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.

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