ROXAS City – A 44-year-old seafarer from Capiz province was found with the Delta variant (previously called the India variant) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
He was tested in Manila on June 6 and isolated there until he got fully recovered, according to Joeffrey Espiritu, development management officer of the Department of Health in Capiz.
The seafarer was allowed to return to Capiz on June 17 but extreme caution prompted the Provincial Health Office to order 14 more days of quarantine.
“Kon sundon naton ang guidelines sa COVID-19 Management, no need na kay recovered na sia. But since this is the Delta variant, concern gid ‘ni,” said Espiritu.
The seafarer was cooperative, he added.
The Delta variant, first detected in India, appears to be more transmissible and likely to cause severe illness, according to experts.
The World Health Organization WHO) said last week that the variant was also becoming the globally dominant variant the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
As of June 21, the country reported a total of 17 COVID-19 cases with the Delta variant but all of them were detected at the country’s borders.
So far, there is no local transmission yet of the Delta variant in the country.
Dr. Glen Alonsabe, DOH regional epidemiologist and head of the Regional Surveillance Unit, said Western Visayas remains free from any new SARS-CoV-2 virus variant.
He assured the public that DOH is continually sending specimens to the Philippine Genome Center for sequencing.
“So far sa kaluoy sang Diyos waay pa man may nakita nga (locally collected) sample nga positive (for new variants) halin sa aton,” said Alonsabe.
Previous reports of new variants infecting Western Visayans were detected in Manila. They were either repatriated overseas workers or locally stranded individuals.
They already fully recovered when they were allowed to return to the region, said Alonsabe./PN
