THE Department of Health (DOH)-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (CHD) is verifying one returning overseas Filipino (ROF) who was reportedly found positive for the delta variant of Sars-CoV-2 and with indicative address in Bacolod City.
Dr. Adriano Suba-an, DOH-Western Visayas director, said that on August 23, the CHD detected an additional 53 Delta variant cases, of which 52 were local cases.
Of the number, 21 were from Aklan; 16 from Iloilo Province; 11 from Iloilo City; and once each from Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Bacolod City.
He said the CHD is verifying one ROF who indicated Bacolod City as his address.
The report is reflected in the latest batch of samples that underwent genome sequencing by the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC).
As to the Alpha variant, the DOH-CHD recorded seven new cases. Of the number, three were from Iloilo Province, two from Iloilo Iloilo City, and one each from Bacolod City and Capiz. All seven were local cases.
As to Theta or P.3 variant, Bacolod City has a total of 10 new P.3 cases, Iloilo City with seven and Iloilo Province with six.
Suba-an said no additional Lambda and Gamma variants of concern were identified.
City Administrator Em Ang, executive director of Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF), earlier said that two more individuals in Bacolod City have been tested positive for Delta variant based on the report from the Philippine Genome Center.
These include the six-month-old boy, a resident of Barangay Bata, and the 45-year-old man, a resident of Barangay Villamonte.
Ang said both patients have already completed their isolation.
Bacolod City earlier recorded four Delta variant cases, which include a three-year-old boy and 63-year-old woman, both residents of Barangay Mansilingan; a 71-year-old male resident of Barangay Banago; and the 32-year-old pregnant woman from Barangay Sum-ag. All of them were already out of isolation.
Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chairman of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), said they already ordered localized containment measures or surgical lockdown of the residential area of Barangays Bata and Villamonte, where the two patients and their families reside.
He said contact tracing is still ongoing up to the third generation contacts of the patients.
He added that the patients will be subjected to a repeat swab test.
The DOH-Western Visayas-CHD urged the local government units to conduct active case findings, aggressive contact tracing and testing, lower the interval between detection and isolation or quarantine, and strengthen the prevent-detect-isolate-treat and reintegrate (PDITR) strategies.
Vaccination and strict adherence to the minimum public health standards are also important interventions in preventing the transmission of the Covid-19 and its variants, it added.