The Department of Health said that the Delta variant is now the most common variant in the Philippines.
The DOH on Monday reported 319 new cases of the more highly transmissible delta variant.
Of the 12,530 sequenced samples with lineages, the country has detected 3,027 or 24.16 percent of Delta cases.
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Out of the 319 new cases, 40 were detected in Region 2, 31 cases in. Caraga. Calabarzon registered 26 cases, while Region 1 and the NCR posted 24 cases each. Returning overseas Filipinos recorded 18 new caes.
“This variant is now the most common lineage among sequenced samples as of the latest whole genome sequencing run,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
“The increased proportion of these variants can be attributed to their increased transmissibility. However, sampling methodology also affects these proportions as samples from target areas or populations are prioritized more,” Vergeire said.
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“Such populations or areas include samples belonging to clusters, severe or critical cases, admitted cases, samples from areas with sudden increase in COVID-19 cases, fully vaccinated individuals, and cases from returning overseas Filipinos. Infections from these populations are more likely to be associated with variants of concern,” she continued.
The country has so far 2,366,749 new COVID-19 cases after recording 19,271 new infections on Sunday. (TDT)
