MANILA – Thirty-one out of the 119 new Delta variant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases detected in the country were from Western Visayas, according to a Department of Health (DOH) advisory released on Friday afternoon.
These were considered local transmissions, the DOH said. Most of them have reportedly recovered.
Of the new Delta cases in Western Visayas, 19 were from the province of Antique, two from Capiz, three from Iloilo City, and seven from Iloilo province.
These were part of the 99 samples submitted to the Philippine Genome Center for genomic sequencing on July 23, 2021.
DOH Region 6 is also verifying two additional returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) positive of the Delta variant and with indicative addresses in the region.
Overall, the Philippines now has 450 COVID-19 cases of the Delta variant.
First identified in India, the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, can spread more easily. The strain has mutations on the spike protein that make it easier to infect human cells.
COVID CASES BREACH 10K ANEW
DOH also reported on Friday afternoon the detection of 10,623 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day number of cases since April 17 this year.
These brought the total COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,638,345 with 74,297 still active.
DOH also announced 247 new single-day COVID-19 casualties, the highest since April 9 this year. The country now has a total of 28,673 deaths due to the viral disease.
There were also 3,127 new COVID-19 recovered cases for a total of 1,535,375 recovered patients in the country./PN
