Region has now 14 Delta variant cases
TACLOBAN CITY- A pregnant woman from a Leyte town is one of the two persons from the region who were tested to have the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This was confirmed by Dr. Marc Steven Capungcol, head of the epidemiology and surveillance unit of the Department of Health (DOH-8), who said that the region has now 14 Delta variant cases, considered to be the most infectious of COVID-19 variants.
He, however, said that one of the two latest cases is still in Manila and in isolation but was counted as a case from the region as he listed his home address as Hilongos, Leyte.
Capungcol said that the eight-month old pregnant woman is from Hindang town, also in Leyte, and is now in isolation at the local government unit-run facility.
“She appears to be asymptomatic. She returned last August 9 from Davao City and travelled to Manila on her way to Tacloban. She was picked up at the Tacloban airport by her brother who was tested negative,” the health official said.
Both new cases of Delta variant in the region were returning overseas workers.
Capungcol said that of the 14 Delta variant cases of the region, only four are considered as ‘active.’ The other active cases were from Borongan City in Eastern Samar and Kawayan in Biliran province.
With the presence of Delta variant and other variants in the region, Capungcol renewed their calls for the public to strictly follow all the mandatory health protocols as he vowed that the DOH, together with the local government units, on the vaccination campaign.
Based on the data of the DOH-8, 560,092 individuals have received their first dose of which 259,662 of them have completed the vaccination.
The DOH has also reported that the Eastern Visayas has so far received over one million doses of vaccines of which 624,010 vaccines are Sinovac.
More vaccines are expected to be received by the region, the DOH added.
Meantime, the DOH reported of 198 new COVID-19 cases on Friday (August 17), increasing the region’s total cases to 40,445 with 1,312 considered as active cases.
