The highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID -19 can spread with just “fleeting contact,” according to an infectious disease expert.
Dr. Edsel Salvaña said the Delta variant which first discovered in India, is about four times more infectious than the original virus from Wuhan and two times more infectious than the Alpha variant that was first discovered in UK.
Salvaña said the variant is one of the factors why the mandatory face shield is maintained as well as the strict travel restrictions.
RELATED STORY: Mandatory wearing of face shield remains as cases of Delta variant surges in PH
He also told ABS-CBN News the highly contagious variant seems to make younger people get sicker.
The health official, who serves as an adviser for the government on COVID-19 response, cited a case of delta variant in Australia where two people in quarantine contracted the virus through fleeting contact.
Authorities in Queensland say the virus was still transmitted, despite the hotel staff member and the positive case being fully vaccinated.
“This is fleeting contact. What that means is that you really have to protect yourself at all times, otherwise, this is going to get out of hand,” Salvaña said.
He added that new variant, unlike other variants that could infect after 15 minutes of close contact, can be contracted differently.
READ ON: DOH detects 4 new Delta COVID-19 variant cases from returning overseas FIlipinos
The delta variant has been reported in more than 80 countries around the world, according to the World Health Organization.
Salvaña reiterated that the quarantine protocols did protect the country from a deadly surge of new infections but he warned that it only takes a one spike and the Philippines might experience the situation in India.
“This has to be a whole of nation approach. One person can save us or one person can doom all of us,” he said. (RA)
