DOH says death toll among Delta variant cases now 3
There are now three deaths among the Delta variant cases.
Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosette Vergeireâ© revealed this on Monday, July 19.
"Yes, three deaths among 35 Delta cases," she said in a statement.
Vergeire said they are the following: 63-year-old male returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from MV Athens died May 19; 78-year-old female local from Baybay, Antique May 30; and 58-year-old female local from Pandacan died June 28.
She said the Antique fatality was initially tagged as "recovered and after LGU validation they reported as a death."
The Health official also said that they again "tested and quarantined these local cases, and we will further verify their status once we complete assessment."
Vergeire later clarified that she was referring to nine local cases and five ROFs.
She said all Delta variant cases are immediately re-assessed to determine their current clinical, laboratory, and isolation status.
"They shall be swabbed for repeat RT-PCR at end of their isolation or upon determination that they were positive for the Delta variant. They shall remain in isolation while awaiting results," Vergeire said.
"Those whose RT-PCR is negative, already asymptomatic, and have completed the minimum 10-day isolation may be discharged from isolation," she added.
She said contact tracing done shall be reviewed to identify RT-PCR positive close contacts whose samples may be eligible for sequencing.
Vergeire added that testing with RT-PCR was advised by experts at end of 14-day quarantine.
Meanwhile, the DOH said the Delta variant case in Taguig was not a local case.
"We have no local case identified in Taguig...it is a Returning Overseas Filipino quarantined in Silver Oaks and part of the MV Athens case. But the permanent residence of this Returning Overseas Filipino is from Taguig, that is why our City of Taguig reported that," she said in a separate press briefing.