Philippines records second death due to Delta variant —Vergeire

A 58-year-old female who tested positive for the Delta variant or B.1.617 coronavirus variant first detected in India has died, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire disclosed Saturday.

It was the second death recorded in the Philippines due to the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.

“Mayroon pong dalawang namatay. Actually 'yung isa ‘yung galing sa MV Athens. Ngayon sa batch na na-detect natin with Delta variant, may isa pong namatay, 58-year-old female,” Vergeire said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(As of now, there are two who died due to the Delta Variant. The first one was the seafarer from MV Athens. In the new batch of detected Delta variant, there is another one who died, a 58-year-old female.)

“Nagkaroon na po siya ng sintomas five days from the time na nagpakonsulta siya at pagdating niya po do'n sa emergency room ay malubha na po ang kanyang sakit. At doon na po siya binawian ng buhay,” she added.

(She experienced symptoms five days before she had medical consultation. When she arrived at the emergency room, her case was already severe. She passed away on the same day.)

Vergeire said they have yet to determine if the 58-year-old woman was already vaccinated against COVID-19.

They will give further details after getting all the information on the health status of the patient, she said.

A 63-year-old hypertensive male, who was one of the seafarers of the MV Athens Bridge, was the first recorded death in the Philippines due to the Delta variant.

On Friday, the Department of Health has reported 16 new Delta variant cases, of which, 11 are considered as local cases.

Out of the 11 local cases, two were detected in Metro Manila, six in region 10, two in Region 6 and one was tested in Metro Manila but has an address sin Region 3.

Meanwhile, Vergeire clarified that a local transmission of the Delta coronavirus variant has yet to be confirmed.

The DOH official said there is a difference between local cases and local transmission.

A local case means the variant was detected from an individual who was not classified as a returning overseas Filipino (ROF), she said on Dobol B TV.

Meanwhile, local transmission means there’s evidence that the cases of COVID-19 in a community are linked together.

Vergeire said intensive contact tracing should be done to determine if there is local transmission.

The Philippines on Friday reported 5,676 new cases COVID-19, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,496,328. —KG, GMA News