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Unfolding Stories
Philippines tightens curbs after first local Delta variant cases
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T
he Philippines has recorded the country's first locally acquired cases of the more infectious Delta variant, prompting authorities to reimpose stricter COVID-19 measures in some areas as health experts sought bans on social gatherings.
The Philippines is battling one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, but infection numbers have been declining since peaking in March and April, allowing for a gradual relaxation of restrictions.
Sixteen people had been found with the Delta variant, including five who had returned from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United Kingdom between April and June, health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a news conference.
The other 11 were locally acquired cases, including a cluster of five people in the southern city of Cagayan de Oro. One patient had died after being hospitalized in Manila on June 28.
"The spread of COVID-19 globally, while being controlled by vaccination, is still being driven by these variants of concern," said Vergeire, as authorities announced a tightening of restrictions in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental province.
In May, the Philippines recorded its first Delta cases in two workers who returned from the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
"Mutation from the local population does not happen. It must have been introduced from foreign travelers," Cynthia Saloma, executive director of the Philippine Genome Center, told the news conference.
