With the Delta variant confirmed to exist in EV
TACLOBAN CITY- With the presence now of the Delta variant in Eastern Visayas, local government units in the region are scampering by imposing new guidelines as the Department of Health(DOH) are encouraging local government units to ramp up their vaccination drives.
In Biliran, Governor Rogelio Espina issued an executive order on July 31 which among others, directed all of the province’s eight towns to establish a separate isolation facility for patients who would be tested positive of the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease(COVID-19).
In Northern Samar,Dr.Ninfa Kam,provincial health officer, advised the provincial Inter-Agency Task Force to strengthen the province’s border control and to have a stricter implementation of preventive measures to avoid further spread of COVID-19 across the province, especially now with the presence of the Delta variant in the region.
In Eastern Samar, those belonging to the A4 category or frontliners in the economic sector are now advised to get the vaccine to halt further spread of the virus as the DOH has earlier confirmed of nine Delta variant cases in the province one of whom died on July 3 due to complications of lung cancer.
Gov. Ben Evardone, in his Facebook post on Monday, said that some close contacts of a Delta variant carriers were tested positive for COVID-19.
“The Provincial Health Office has confirmed the presence of a local Delta variant transmission in Borongan City after 11 — 4 first and 7 second generation contacts of a Delta variant carrier– were tested positive in the past few days.
According to PHO, the protocol is that all active positive cases in Borongan are considered Delta variant.
Borongan City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda has also issued an order to administer vaccine to individuals who are not listed but are within the city’s vaccination area.
In Tacloban City, mobile vaccination was also introduced last week to ensure elderlies who are sick could receive the vaccine to ensure that the city’s number of vaccinated people could increase.
A 45-year old woman from this city was earlier confirmed to have the Delta variant.
The DOH earlier asked the LGUs in the region to ramp up their vaccination campaign amid the detection of the Delta variant in the region.
With more people getting the vaccine, spread of COVID-19 could somehow be addressed, the DOH said.
“The public is asked to get (the) vaccinate and coordinate with your respective local government units for your master listing and schedule in order to get the maximum protection against the severe form of COVID-19,”Dr.Exuperia Sabalberino, health regional director, said.
“None of us is safe until everyone is safe,”she added.
The DOH said that as of July 30, 329,659 individuals across the region have received the jabs of which 178,892 of them administered of the second shots.
On Monday (August 2), the region has 75 new cases, pushing Eastern Visayas total COVID-19 cases to 36,285 with 421 deaths.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
