ASEANews HEADLINES: MANILA, Philippines- Delta now all over NCR

All cities and the lone municipality in the National Capital Region (NCR) have at least one case of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Friday, Aug. 6.

At a press briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that the Delta variant of COVID-19 was detected in all 17 localities in the NCR, with Las Piñas City accounting for most of the cases at 23.

Pasig follows closely with 21 cases while Manila has 16 cases and Malabon 12. The cities of Mandaluyong, Caloocan and Navotas have seven cases each while Makati has six.

Data showed that Quezon City, San Juan and Pasay City posted five cases each, with Valenzuela and Taguig each with four cases. On the other hand, Pateros town and Parañaque have two cases each while Marikina has one. 

Although Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco confirmed the cases, he said that these patients have already recovered as he cited the long period that it takes to verify the nature of their infection.

He added that their close contacts have been brought to the city’s isolation center.

Tiangco batted for a round-the-clock testing of potential carriers. “We have to know quickly who has COVID-19,” he stressed.

On Friday, the DOH documented a total of 10,623 new COVID cases – the highest since April 17 when 11,101 new cases were recorded. The figure is also a big jump when compared to the 8,127 cases reported last Thursday, Aug. 5.

Joey Concepcion, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder, said the alarming surge in the single-day COVID case count has proven the wisdom of putting the NCR back to the strictest community quarantine.

“We made the right move. We heeded the advice of OCTA Research for the private sector to consider locking down. I am glad we did. I am glad that our NCR mayors also joined us in seeing the real situation on the ground. We thank MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) chair (Benhur) Abalos for his persistence and Health Secretary Francisco Duque and the rest of the IATF,” Concepcion said, referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Concepcion earlier said that to go under lockdown now to control the worrying spread of the highly contagious Delta variant was a painful but necessary step to protect the last quarter of the year, which is typically the most important period for the corporate sector due to the holiday sale spike.

“We will now work closely with MMDA chair (Abalos) and the mayors and the IATF to make sure we succeed as we would like to see an end to lockdowns. But that will rely on our ability to vaccinate with great speed. We hope those unvaccinated see the urgency to protect themselves and save our economy,” he stressed.

According to the DOH, Friday’s 10,623 cases still do not include the data from one testing laboratory that was not operational and five others unable to submit reports to the COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS) last Aug. 4.

Nationwide, the Delta variant cases stand at 450 with the addition of 119 new ones. Of the 119, at least 93 are local cases, 20 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) and six cases are currently being verified if these are local or ROF cases. 

Friday’s bulletin showed a total of 1,638,345 cases reported nationwide, of which 74,297, representing 4.5 percent of the overall tally, are active. The DOH also reported 247 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 28,673. There were 3,127 recoveries, which increased the number of those who recovered from the disease to 1,535,375.  

The Philippine Genome Center also found 125 new cases of Alpha variant, 94 new cases of Beta variant and 11 cases of P.3 variant in the latest batch of whole genome sequencing. 

“As we begin to detect more COVID-19 cases with variants of concern, the public is reminded not to be complacent and strictly adhere to the minimum public standards such as proper wearing of face mask and face shield, washing of hands for at least 20 seconds, observing physical distancing, and ensuring proper ventilation whenever indoors,” Vergeire stressed.

In Cagayan Valley, provincial health officer Edwin Galapon confirmed that the province’s first case of the Delta variant has already recovered.

In Zamboanga, city health officer Dulce Miravite confirmed the detection of its first Delta variant case, a crewmember of an interisland vessel.

She said the case was among the 14 crewmen who showed symptoms of COVID-19 and whose swab tests were forwarded to the Philippine Genome Center for sequencing. Of the number, 12 were found positive, including the one identified to be with the Delta variant.

Miravite noted though that the case has already recovered, is no longer in the city and has reportedly returned to duty.

In Apayao province, Gov. Eleanor Bulut-Begtang gave assurance that the situation in her jurisdiction is under control even with the detection of one Delta case. – With Ghio Ong, Victor Martin, Roel Pareño, Art Dumlao, Louella Desiderio