COVID-19 surge in Baguio City driven by Delta variant –Magalong

Baguio City was noting a significant surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the coronavirus' Delta variant, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Saturday.

According to Magalong, Baguio recorded at least 260 new cases and at least eight deaths a day last week due to the viral disease.

The Baguio mayor, also the country’s contact tracing czar, reported that the total number of active cases in the city reached 4,000, with almost 500 deaths since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are experiencing a lot of cases. We are experiencing a surge dito sa Baguio. In fact yung increase is not linear talagang exponential, naka-curve siya,” Magalong said during the Laging Handa public briefing.

(We are experiencing a surge here in Baguio. In fact, the increase is not linear. It's exponential, it's a curve.)

Magalong bared that, using the city’s technical tools, it was discovered that the Delta variant was the dominant variant in the city.

“According to Philippine Genome Center (PGC) data... we have 32 cases of Delta. However, in our analysis, using our technical tools, there are a thousand Delta cases,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, Magalong said they would continue to strengthen the border controls and implement stricter measures to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.

The Department of Health (DOH) reported 15,566 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, bringing the nationwide tally to 2,565,487.

But the Health Department said the country’s active cases decreased to 130,268, the lowest since August 23. — DVM, GMA News