SARS-CoV-2's Delta variant

The Delta variant remains dominant and experts, governments and vaccine makers are urging people to take advantage of booster jabs where they are available.

Delta has proved able to evade vaccine defences against transmission better than the Alpha, Beta and Gamma COVID-19 variants. 

But jabs have remained highly effective at preventing severe illness from Delta, lowering the risk of overwhelming hospital resources. — AFP

The new COVID-19 Delta subvariant has not yet been detected in the Philippines, the Department of Health says.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says health authorities are monitoring 46 sublineages of the Delta variant, but “the particular Delta sublineage has not yet been detected among the COVID-19 positive samples sequenced in the country.”

Experts, however, are looking into the potential impact of the Delta AY.4.2. sublineage on transmissibility.

The Department of Health reports 633 additional cases of the Delta variant.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says the additional infections account for 84.63% of the 748 samples tested on October 16.

The DOH reports 411 more cases of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant in the country.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says the new Delta variant cases come from 747 samples collected from February to September.

The Philippines has 640 new cases of the Delta variant of COCID-19 out of the 748 samples it sent for genome sequencing, the Department of Health announces.

DOH says 584 are local cases, 52 returning Filipinos from abroad and four still being verified.

Of the new Delta infections, 13 have died while 624 have been tagged as recovered. — Christian Deiparine

The Department of Health reports 279 new Delta variant cases in the Philippines.

Among the new cases, 245 are local cases while 21 are returning Filipinos from overseas. 

DOH says 279 new Delta variant cases were detected in the country — 245 are local cases and 21 returning Filipinos from overseas @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/1azNXNlPQg

— Christian Deiparine (@christiandeips) September 6, 2021

The Delta variant (B.1.617.2 Indian lineage) comprises 16% of the total of coronavirus cases in the Philippines, according to latest data from the Department of Health.

The Beta variant (B.1.351 South African lineage) remains the most common lineage nationally with 24%, followed by the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7 UK lineage) with 21.5%. 

The DOH notes that once detected in a region, the Beta variant becomes the more common lineage.

LOOK: Latest data on COVID-19 variants in the country. @PhilippineStar pic.twitter.com/yqDZcA9mGg

— sheila crisostomo (@shecrisostomo) September 6, 2021

Australia on Thursday reports more than 1,000 new local coronavirus cases for the first time during the pandemic, as a Delta variant outbreak surged in Sydney.

New South Wales state, which includes the country's most populous city Sydney, announced a record 1,029 cases of Covid-19 for the previous 24 hours.

An outbreak that began in the city in mid-June has reached over 15,000 cases and spread to smaller towns and cities, prompting the return of lockdowns and travel restrictions across Australia's populated southeast. — AFP

The spread of the more transmissible Delta variant is leading to more infections in households, the World Health Organization says.

WHO Western Pacific Region Director Dr. Takeshi Kasai notes how Filipinos have been adapting to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

"We know lockdown alone cannot really reduce the transmission so it's important to know where the infections are occurring and suppress that. The government is putting 'significant effort' in vaccination," Kasai says at a press briefing.

The Department of Health announces the detection of 466 more cases of the Delta variant in the country.

The overall count is now at 1,273. — Christian Deiparine

The Department of Health confirms there is community transmission of the Delta variant in the country already.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says they are seeing evidence of community transmission of Delta variant in the National Capital Region and Calabarzon.

China's coronavirus cases hit a seven-month high on Tuesday, after a cluster at a test site helped drive up numbers as the Delta variant challenges Beijing's grip on the pandemic.

State media has described the current outbreak -- which has sparked local lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions -- as the most severe since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan.

Authorities had brought domestic infections down to virtually zero, allowing economic activity to rebound albeit with tight border restrictions. — AFP

The Philippines' risk classification for COVID-19 is back to “high” following an increase in infections, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire says. 

From nine regions, 13 regions now have cases of the Delta variant. 

The Department of Health reports 116 new Delta variant cases. The total is now at 331. 

Ninety-five are local cases, 20 up for validation and one returning Filipino from overseas

Health authorities say 83 of the new Delta cases had indicated address in Metro Manila and three in Calabarzon, four from Central Visayas, two from Davao Region and one each from Zamboanga Peninsula, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos Region. — Christian Deiparine

The Quezon City government confirms a case of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in the city.

The 34-year-old OFW from Saudi Arabia, a resident of the city, arrived in the country on June 24 and has been on strict home quarantine since Sunday evening.

The QC government was careful to mention the man "is not considered [the] first case in QC, since [this wasn't] local transmission." — Philstar.com/Franco Luna

The Philippines reports 55 new cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

This brings the total count to 119. Of the new infections, 37 are local cases and 17 are returning Filipinos from overseas.

DOH says 14 of the local cases are from Calabarzon, eight from Northern Mindanao, while six had indicated address in Metro Manila, six in Central Luzon, two from Davao Region and one from Ilocos Region.  — Philstar.com/Christian Deiparine

Health officials report 17 more Delta variant cases detected, including 12 local cases.

Eleven Alpha variant cases and 13 Beta variant cases also sequenced.

The Department of Health detects two new cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in the Philippines.

They are OFWs with travel history from Saudi Arabia who returned to the Philippines on May 29, and have since recovered.

Health authorities also report 132 more cases of the Alpha variant, 119 of the Beta, and 3 of the Theta. — Philstar.com/Christian Deiparine

Australia's largest city Sydney is on a two-week lockdown to contain a sudden coronavirus surge and Russia's Saint Petersburg announced a record death toll, as several European nations lift restrictions despite the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Britain's health minister meanwhile resigns after revelations that he had broken the government's own coronavirus restrictions during an affair with a close aide. — AFP

Local and global updates on COVID-19 cases, outbreaks and containment efforts due to the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India. (Main image: Lockdown in Sydney, Australia in June 2021 by AFP/Saeed Khan)