RESEARCH group OCTA fears local transmission of the highly contagious DELTA COVID-19 variant in the country.
The group made the statement after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed 11 local cases of the said variant.
“Malamang may local transmission na ‘yan. Meron na ‘yan kasi may local cases na tayo na walang travel history,” Professor Guido David said in an ABS-CBN interview.
There are now 35 cases of the variant first detected in India. Of this number, 19 cases were returning overseas Filipino workers while 11 cases were tagged as local cases.
The DOH has yet to confirm the presence of local transmission of the variant in the Philippines, saying that the local cases have not yet been linked to other Delta cases.
The OCTA group is also pushing to place the entire National Capital Region into a bubble amid the new threat of the Delta variant.
“Para sa akin, kahit hindi na natin hintayin ‘yung confirmation na ‘yun. I-assume na lang natin na may Delta variant somewhere sa Pilipinas. Kailangan maging proactive na tayo,” he said.
