Philippines detects 119 more Delta variant cases; total now 450

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday reported 119 new cases of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant, pushing the country’s tally to 450.

The DOH said 93 of the latest cases are local, 20 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), and six are still undergoing verification.

The local cases came from the following areas:

• Metro Manila (18 cases)
• Calabarzon (14 cases)
• Central Luzon (18 cases)
• Western Visayas (31 cases)
• Northern Mindanao (8 cases)
• Central Visayas (1 case)
• Eastern Samar (1 case)
• Zamboanga Peninsula (1 case)
• Cordillera Administrative Region (1 case)

The DOH said 118 cases have been tagged as recovered while the status of one other patient is still being verified.

The Delta variant, which was first detected in India, has now been detected in all areas in Metro Manila. 

Other variants

Meanwhile, the DOH also reported the detection of 125 Alpha variant cases, 94 Beta cases, and 11 new cases of the P.3 variant that was first detected in the Philippines.

The country now has a total of 2,093 Alpha cases and 2,362 Beta cases.

Among the 125 new Alpha variant infections, 115 are local, six are ROFs, and four are undergoing verification. Three cases have died while 122 have recovered from COVID-19.

Out of the 94 additional Beta cases, 89 are local, three are ROFs, and two are undergoing verification. Seven cases have died while 87 have been tagged as recovered.

The DOH earlier said 37 areas, including eight in Metro Manila, were placed under Alert Level 4 due to high COVID-19 transmission and bed utilization rate.  —KBK, GMA News