MANILA, Jul 16 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines detected its first local COVID-19 cases of the Delta variant, as the total cases of the more transmissible variant in the country rose to 35, the Department of Health (DOH) said today.
Health Undersecretary, Maria Rosario Vergeire, said, 16 new cases of Delta variant have been detected in the country, including 11 locally transmitted, with 15 recoveries and one death.
Of the 11 local transmissions, six were detected in a northern Mindanao region, in the southern Philippines. “(The six cases) are part of a large cluster of cases, with dates of onset between Jun 23 and 28. All have been tagged as recovered,” Vergeire added.
Meanwhile, two cases were detected in Metro Manila, one was detected in central Luzon, while the two others were found in the central Philippines, she said.
The Philippines previously reported 19 Delta variant cases from samples taken from returning Filipinos, who were immediately isolated upon arrival. Eighteen patients have recovered while one died, the DOH said.
The country banned inbound travellers from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, to curb the Delta variant.
The Philippines reported a total of 1,490,665 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of yesterday, including 26,314 deaths.
