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| Commuters prepare their face shields as they board an EDSA carousel bus at the Monumento station in Quezon City on Sept. 23, 2021. (Photo by Michael Varcas/ The Star) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA:The Department of Health on Monday reported 411 more cases of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 from samples collected as far as February this year, PhilStar reported. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the new infections accounted for 55% of the 747 samples collected up until last month. The number of local cases and of returning Filipinos from overseas with the Delta was not immediately available.
But Vergeire added that 88 cases of the Alpha or the variant first identified in the United Kingdom were also seen, as well as 78 cases of the Beta or that originally reported in South Africa. This development pushed the Philippines' total count of Delta cases to 3,798, or 26.2% of the 14,517 samples tested in total. Beta variant followed with 3,307 cases or 22.78%, while the number of Alpha variant cases stood at 2,935 or 20.22%. "The increased proportion of these variants can be attributed to their increased transmissibility," Vergeire said in a briefing.
She added, however, that sampling methodology also affects the proportions as authorities remain prioritizing samples from target areas or populations. Vergeire said these include those in areas with clustering of cases, severe to critical infections, as well as samples from areas with a sudden increase in cases and fully vaccinated individuals.
