Cebu logs 4 new Delta variant cases from Lapu-Lapu City

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas on Friday reported four new cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), all from Lapu-Lapu City.  

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH-7 regional director, told the media in a group message that the new cases of Delta variant in Cebu were part of the 123 samples taken on July 4-10 and sent to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) for sequencing.

On July 29, the DOH-7 reported 32 confirmed cases of Delta variant in Cebu, 19 of them from Lapu-Lapu City, increasing the island city’s total Delta variant cases to 23.

“LGUs know what to do (of the reported variant),” he said, adding that “it is presumed (the new cases are) well beyond the course of the disease”.

DOH-7 chief pathologist Dr. Mary Jean Loreche told the Cebu media that all samples collected were from the community, which means the patients tested of the Delta variant have no history of travel outside the country.

“At this time, we noticed a rise in our cases, and just like January to March of this year, we wanted to do bio-surveillance to check if we possibly could also have the Delta variant,” she said.

Loreche also reported that out of the 32 cases of the Delta variant, two have died of the virus.

The regional chief pathologist said that four have already recovered and contact tracing is currently being done to prevent further spread of the variant.

“As per our protocol on positive persons, we immediately do contact tracing and isolation thus we are confident that by the time the results from PGC are released, we deem these Delta variants as recovered,” she added.

With the detection of Delta variant from persons without history of travel abroad, Loreche said “community transmission is real” and that this variant “is highly transmissible and we see this happening with us now”.

She said other variants of concern will keep on coming as the virus will continue to mutate as transmissions are uncontrolled.

“The results from the PGC is not real-time and by the time these are released we have finished with the contact tracing and isolation,” she said. (John Rey Saavedra)