Delta variant possibly spread across the country: expert

With the increasing number of detectable samples of the more infectious Delta variant, one expert believes that there may be many cases of it in other parts of the country and not just in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Calabarzon.

The Department of Health (DOH) had earlier said it had detected possible community transmission of the Delta variant in NCR and Calabarzon.

ADVERTISEMENT

But according to infectious disease specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante, the variant may have spread across the country.

“Ang hinala ko rito, Delta is already nationwide,” said Solante.

In the latest batch released by the Philippine Genome Center, out of 748 samples subjected to sequencing, 516 Delta variants appear for a total of 1,789.

ADVERTISEMENT

It turns out that nearly 7 out of every 10 samples of people sequenced had Delta variant as the cause of illness.

Aside from the infection due to the Delta variant, the Philippines’ positivity rate has also reached 27.9 percent, far short of the World Health Organization’s benchmark of 5 percent.

One of the obvious reasons why many are still positive is because others hide their feelings.

ADVERTISEMENT

Delta variant possibly spread across the country: expert

Others will consult only when their symptoms are severe.

Because of this, doctors advise “health-seeking behavior” so that you will be notified of what to do when you feel the symptoms.

It is also important to increase the number of tests for COVID-19, something that Solante said is avoided by some because of the associated cost.

“If they will offer the [COVID-19] test for free, I think that will be very important. Malaking bagay kung maibibigay ng gobyerno nang libre ang test,” said Solante.

This Monday, the DOH recorded more than 22,000 new cases of COVID-19, the highest recorded number of new cases in 1 day since the pandemic began.

According to the DOH, 22,366 additional cases for a total of 1,976,202, of which 148,594 were active cases or still ill.

The department also recorded 222 new deaths from the disease on Monday for a total of 33,330.

There are also 16,864 new recoveries for 1,794,278 total recoveries, according to the DOH.

Visit our Facebook page for more  updates.