The Taguig City government has warned the public against the possible surge of Delta variant cases in the city as it identified the high transmission areas for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In a bulletin, the Taguig Safe City Task Force reiterated its call for the observance of health protocols, citing the new Delta cases recorded by the Department of Health (DOH).

“In Taguig City, as of 12 July 2021, the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CEDSU), has recorded a total of seventy-three (73) COVID-19 cases that are Variants of Concern (VOC), including one (1) Delta variant case of a returning OFW last May,” according to the bulletin.

On July 22, the DOH and University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center reported 12 new Delta cases in the country, bringing the total to 47 Delta cases.

Taguig has formed the Special Task Group Delta Force to monitor “the presence of different variants of interest (VOIs) and VOCs, but is now focused particularly on the prevention, isolation and immediate detection of the Delta variant, being the most dominant variant globally.”

According to the CEDSU, the high transmission areas for COVID-19 in Taguig are restaurants and other eating establishments; wet markets; groceries and supermarkets; and malls and shopping centers.

“In order to lower the risk of transmission, all business owners, employees and patrons of the above listed establishments are advised to strictly observe the minimum public health standards within the premises, such as the wearing of face masks and social distancing,” the task force added.

The task force said all private and commercial establishments in Taguig are required to use the StaySafe.ph app for digital contact tracing.

“While establishments who have developed their own digital contact tracing applications may continue to use them, the StaySafe.ph app must be used as the primary application, which must be prominently displayed at the entrance of their respective premises,” according to the bulletin.

It said fully vaccinated senior citizens who will go out of their homes must bring their vaccination card “and present them before entering any government establishment, commercial establishment, or riding any form of public transportation. Senior citizens who fail to show their vaccination card shall be asked to return home.”

The task force said the following dine-in guidelines should be strictly observed:

a. Face masks may only be removed when seated and eating. Before leaving their seat for any reason, a dine-in customer must wear their face mask first. Eating or drinking while moving away from a customer’s designated table, or interacting with an employee or other customers without a face mask is prohibited;

b. Social distancing protocols must be strictly observed. All visitors must be seated at least one (1) seat apart, and should refrain from eating face-to-face unless there is a divider installed. If there is no divider, a diagonal seating scheme must be implemented;

c. Physical contact in dining establishments must be reduced. While we understand that sharing meals can be a social affair, all dine-in customers must be reminded to limit physical contact, especially when interacting with friends or relatives that do not reside with them in the same household. Wear a face mask and watch your distance.

As of July 21, Taguig has 407 active COVID-19 cases out of 29,958 confirmed cases, 29,270 recoveries, and 281 deaths.