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Philippines detects first local transmission of Delta variant
Of the 16 new COVID-19 cases found to have contracted the Delta variant, 11 were tagged as locally acquired cases, health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a news conference.
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This photo taken on April 6, 2021 shows a man wearing personal protective equipment walking into a makeshift ward built for COVID-19 patients at a hospital in Manila. More contagious variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a record surge in infections in Metro Manila that has overwhelmed hospitals and sent the national capital region into lockdown. (AFP/Jam Sta Rosa)
T
he Philippines has recorded the country's first locally transmitted cases of the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant, the health ministry said on Friday, with one person dying from the disease.
Of the 16 new COVID-19 cases found to have contracted the Delta variant, 11 were tagged as locally acquired cases, health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a news conference.
One person had died after being rushed to a hospital in the capital Manila on June 28, Vergeire said.
Five of those who tested positive were Filipinos returning from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
Read also: Delta variant overwhelms Indonesia’s beleaguered Puskesmas
Philippine authorities have been scrambling to try and stop the variant from spreading in the community after it has triggered an upsurge in infections across the region.
The variant, first detected in India, has been blamed as the key factor for the spike in cases in neigbouring countries including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
