CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Health yesterday confirmed a total of 32 cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus in Central Visayas, all of which were from Cebu.
DOH-7 Director Jaime Bernadas said that 19 of the confirmed cases were from samples from Lapu-Lapu City, six from Cebu City, three from Mandaue City, and two each from Cordova and Samboan towns in Cebu province.
The samples were taken about three weeks ago from July 4-10, 2021.
Health officials had explained that the genome sequencing for Delta is more complex and takes longer compared to that of the ordinary strand of the virus.
The 32 confirmed cases from Cebu were among the 97 newly detected Delta cases in the country that brought the nationwide count to 216.
Of the 97, 88 were local cases, six involved Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROF), while three others were still being verified whether local or ROF.
Of the six ROF cases, two were seafarers of MT Clyde and Barge Claudia currently anchored off Albay, and four were crew members of MV Vega that arrived from Indonesia.
Though newly detected, DOH said that 94 of these cases have already been tagged as “recovered.” The other three have died.
DOH said it was coordinating with local government units to determine other information, such as exposure and vaccination status. The agency did not specify the hometowns of the fatalities.
Aside from the Delta variant, health authorities have also detected 83 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant cases, 127 Beta (B.1.351) variant cases, and 22 P.3 variant cases in the latest batch of whole-genome sequencing results.
None of these other variants have been detected in Central Visayas so far.
The Culprit
Bernadas said the Delta cases could have been responsible for the surge in COVID-19 cases in these localities.
“It really validated our suspicion nga with the increased number and the fast transmission in the past three weeks, it really validated nga dunay Delta variant,” he said.
But Bernadas said these 32 cases may have already recovered since the samples were taken back in the first week of July yet. However, he said efforts are still being done to trace the contacts.
Bernadas likewise believed that there could have already been local transmissions of the variant, although this is still being investigated further.
“Ang unang mga information nga didto naman ni sa ilang mga lugar, pero ako pa na gipa-validate karon ug gi-backtrace, pero it explains the sudden increase of cases in Samboan (for example),” he said.
Reactions
Samboan Mayor Emerito Calderon Jr. said he was already suspecting that Delta had reached his town based on the recent fast rate at which the virus spread.
“I have long suspected it (because) the transmission was very fast and all had the same symptoms of cough, fever, and shortness of breath,” Calderon told The FREEMAN.
Samboan, a four-hour drive south of Cebu City, had 54 active cases as of July 28.
Despite the confirmation, Calderon called for sobriety among his constituents, stressing the need for them to still observe minimum health standards.
“We need to stay calm. We need to follow the same protocols still. It’s everybody’s responsibility, and not only the government. Avail of the vaccine,” he said.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, for his part, said that the Emergency Operations Center in the city has long assumed that “we have the Delta variant here.”
He said the six cases from Cebu City are either still in hospitals, in quarantine facilities or have recovered.
What to do
“Following the detection of additional cases with variants of concern, it is imperative for local government units to immediately crush clusters of infection and observed increases in cases in their respective jurisdictions to reduce transmission,” DOH said in its press statement.
This can be done through active case finding, shortening the detection to isolation/quarantine interval to less than five days, tracing close contacts of suspects, probable, and confirmed cases within 24 hours of detection, and implementing more targeted granular lockdowns.
Aside from that, the intensified implementation of the PDITR (Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate) strategies across all settings, stricter border control, and correct adherence to the minimum public health standards must be observed.
DOH reiterated that whole genome sequencing is conducted to guide the overall response strategies of the government and to determine if variants are causing spikes in cases, and thus should not be used as point-of-care strategies.
However, regardless of the presence of a variant of concern, the management and interventions for these positive COVID-19 cases remain the same, DOH added.
The department also stressed the importance of vaccinating priority groups A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with underlying conditions) since they are at high risk for severe COVID-19 and death.
Meanwhile, DOH-7 chief pathologist Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said they have sent a new batch of samples to the Philippine Genomic Center for Delta variant testing. — Caecent N. Magsumbol Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, JMD (FREEMAN)