21 local Delta variant cases in PGH but no outbreak among staff —official

Twenty-one out of the 72 local cases of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant were tested by or admitted to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), its officials said Wednesday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas Del Rosario said six of the 21 patients were admitted to the hospital while the rest were only tested for COVID-19 there.

Of the six admitted, two died and four have recovered. Del Rosario said both fatalities were unvaccinated against COVID-19, while only one among the recoveries had received a jab. The said recovered patient only exhibited mild symptoms.

PGH infection control chief Dr. Regina Berba assured the public that no outbreak was recorded among PGH health personnel despite the detection of the Delta variant there.

“Over the last several days, we've been informed by the DOH (Department of Health) of the patients who ended up having confirmed Delta variants,” she said in an online forum hosted by Blueprint.PH.

“Despite the high number of Delta exposures in PGH, we’ve really had no COVID outbreaks so far,” she added, noting that close to 300 contacts have been evaluated and tested for COVID-19.

Berba said the PGH is on “heightened alert” from July 26 to August 31.

She also urged other hospitals to be on guard amid the local transmission of the Delta variant. 

“Let's not wait for the result of the whole genome sequencing from PGC (Philippine Genome Center). We know Delta variant is here in our community so we have to assume that all COVID-19, both confirmed and probable cases, may be due to the Delta variant,” she said.

The Philippines has so far recorded 119 Delta variant cases, only 12 of which remain active. 

The OCTA Research group has called for a “circuit breaker” lockdown to curb transmission.

COVID-19 cases in PGH up

Meanwhile, Del Rosario said the PGH currently has 170 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“We’re seeing an increased number of admissions na po sa PGH,” he said.

Del Rosaio said the uptick in admissions started in the first week of July.

“For now po, we really assume that all COVID patients na papasok sa aming ospital ay (entering our hospital are) potential na Delta variant [carriers],” he added. —KBK/RSJ, GMA News