Health authorities have detected 466 additional cases of the more transmissible Delta variant, for a total tally of 1,273, the Department of Health said yesterday.
One was still active, eight cases have died, while 457 cases were tagged as recovered.
Of the additional infections, 442 were local cases, 14 were returning overseas Filipino, and 10 cases still being verified if local or ROF cases.
In a statement, the DOH said that aside from the Delta variant, there were also new confirmed cases of the Alpha variant (90), Beta (105), and Theta (41), based on the latest whole-genome sequencing report by the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health.
Of the 442 local cases, 201 had indicated addresses in the National Capital Region, while 69 cases are from Central Luzon, seven in Cagayan Valley, 49 in Calabarzon, 14 in Mimaropa, four in the Bicol Region, 52 in Western Visayas, 19 in Central Visayas, six in Northern Mindanao, 11 in Davao Region, seven in Soccsksargen, and three in the Ilocos Region.
Of the new 90 Alpha variant cases detected, 89 were local cases, while one is currently being verified, either as local or ROF case.
Based on the case line list, one case is still active, one died, and 88 cases have been tagged as recovered.
To date, cases of the Alpha variant, first detected in the UK, were at 2,322.
For the 105 Beta variant cases, 101 were local cases and four ROFs – four cases have died, 99 have recovered, and two are under verification.
The total Beta variant cases stood at 2,588.
The 41 additional P.3 variant cases were all local cases, with all but one already recovered.
LAMBDA
In an online briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also reported that no additional case of the Lambda variant, first seen in Peru, has been detected.
“For the Lambda variant, a report was given to us today that identified close contacts tested negative for Covid-19,” she said.
The country’s first Lambda case was a 35-year-old female, confirmed on Aug. 15.
“The Department of Health is continuously coordinating with our local governments to trace and test all of the contacts and determine the transmission of the identified variant of interest,” she said.
The World Health Organization has not classified the Lambda variant as a variant of concern.
For now, it remains as a variant of interest.
“Meaning, the characteristics of the virus does not give significant health impact to the population,” Vergeire said.
“Vaccination is one of the ways to get protection against any variants in the country,” she added.
NO WIDESPREAD TRANSMISSION
The DOH also clarified that the government needs further evidence to declare a countrywide surge of the Delta variant, first detected in India, even if community transmission had been identified in Calabarzon and NCR.
“Case investigations and phylogenetic analysis showed that these cases cannot be epidemiologically linked to each other, nor the source/s of infection determined,” the DOH said.
It added that analysis of the latest sequencing results for the determination of community transmission is ongoing for other regions.
The public is urged to continue practicing public health standards at all times to prevent the spread of Covid-19.*PNA
