Cases highest in NCR, Central Visayas
THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said nine of the 17 regions in the country have Delta variant cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a virtual townhall forum, DOH – Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said the 165 local cases of Delta variant have been traced to be from the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Visayas, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Ilocos, Western Visayas and Davao region.
The NCR has the highest number of Delta variant cases with 47, followed by Central Visayas with 32, Calabarzon with 28, Central Luzon with 20, Northern Mindanao with 14, Eastern Visayas with 10, Ilocos region with five, Western Visayas with five, and Davao region with four.
De Guzman said that in Metro Manila, nine local government units were found to have Delta variant cases.
The cities of Las Piñas and Manila have the highest number of Delta variant cases with 13 and 12 respectively.
Other Metro Manila cities with cases of the more transmissible COVID-19 variant are Pasig with six, Malabon with four, Caloocan with four, Makati with three, San Juan with two, Mandaluyong with two, and Valenzuela with one.
“The impact of the Delta variant is now observed nationally and in select regions and areas,” said De Guzman.
The DOH has reported a total of 216 Delta variant cases in the country, with 165 being local, 48 returning overseas Filipinos, and three for verification.
Given the increasing number of Delta variant cases, the health official called on all LGUs anew to enhance their respective COVID-19 responses, especially with the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in several areas.
Metro Manila will be under strict lockdown starting on Friday, August 6, until August 20 to curb the spread of the Delta variant in the capital region.
“This is the golden opportunity for us to mitigate the spread of Delta variant locally,” said De Guzman, saying the pre-emptive measures include immediately addressing observed case increases, closely monitoring of health care utilization, and implementation of localized lockdowns.
All localities whose cases and healthcare utilization rates are high and at critical risk must urgently increase health systems capacity to prevent fatalities from occurring resulting from poor accessibility and/or availability of critical care services.
De Guzman said all localities exhibiting case increases but health care utilization retained at low to moderate risk must also increase health systems capacity to prevent health care capacity from being overwhelmed.
