BACOLOD City – Residential areas in barangays Sum-ag and Banago in this city were placed under surgical lockdown. Two residents from each village were infected with the Delta variant of the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), based on the results of the genomic sequencing conducted by the Philippine Genome Center released on Aug. 12.
Both cases tested positive for COVID-19 in July yet and have already recovered, according to City Administrator Em Ang, executive director of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) here.
The cases were presently in their respective houses after having been isolated in quarantine facilities last month, Ang added.
One case was a 71-year-old male from Banago. He was asymptomatic and had not received a vaccine against COVID-19. He also had no travel history.
The other “Delta” case was a 32-year-old pregnant woman from Sum-ag. She tested positive for COVID-19 based on her swab test result as requirement for pregnant women at 36 weeks of pregnancy. She was also unvaccinated against COVID-19.
The woman was asymptomatic, and had no travel history, Ang added.
On the other hand, seven close contacts were identified in Banago and 15 in Sum-ag, said Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical data and analysis of the EOC.
They were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing yesterday, Sorongon added.
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./PN
