COVID-19 Delta variant cases in Ilocos Norte climb to 17

LAOAG CITY — The total number of patients infected with the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant in Ilocos Norte province has climbed to 17, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) in the Ilocos region said  Thursday.

Dr. Rheuel C. Bobis, COVID-19 focal person of the DOH, said in a press briefing that Ilocos Norte remained to be an area of concern for having the highest number of active COVID-19 cases among all provinces in the region.

So far, the province has logged a total of 14,113 COVID-19 cases, including 3,970 active infections, 9,981 recoveries, and 162 deaths, the provincial government said

Bobis noted a downward trend in the weekly COVID-19 cases recorded in the province, with a 21.1-percentage decrease from August 15-21, as compared to the past three weeks.

The COVID-19 bed occupancy rate in Ilocos Norte is at a “safe” level, with 51 percent of the 303 beds devoted to COVID-19 patients occupied as of Wednesday, said Bobis.

As of Wednesday, the intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Ilocos Norte were 88-percent occupied or considered as “critical” level while mechanical ventilators utilization rate is at 74 percent or at “high-risk” level, according to Bobis.