A public health expert on Monday, June 21, has not yet seen a community transmission in the Philippines brought by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant first reported in India.
According to studies, the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant first identified in the United Kingdom.
The Department of Health (DOH) said patients infected with the Delta variant are more prone to stay longer in hospitals than those who contracted the other variants.
"Right now we can't say we have community transmission of the Delta variant here," Dr. Rontgene Solante, Chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Unit at the San Lazaro Hospital, said in an interview with DZBB.
"Maybe we should wait for the results of the genomic surveillance being conducted at the Philippine Genome Center to also see how wide the variants are spreading here in the Philippines," he added.
The infectious disease expert also urged the government to intensify vaccination efforts to prevent further virus mutations.
On Monday, the DOH has detected four more cases of Delta variant, pushing the total to 17 cases.