CEBU CITY – Central Visayas has the most number of cases of the more transmissible variant of COVID-19.
The Department of Health-Central Visayas (DOH 7) confirmed that 32 COVID-19 cases with Delta variant are from Region 7 and all of which are in Cebu island.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, regional director of DOH 7, said 19 cases are in Lapu-Lapu City, six in Cebu City, three in Mandaue City, two in Cordova town and two in Samboan town.
Bernadas said the presence of the Delta variant may have been the cause why those areas are experiencing an increase of COVID-19 cases.
As of July 29, Cebu City had 2,527 active cases followed by Cebu province with 2,424. Lapu-Lapu City had 1,239 cases, while Mandaue had 888.
Seven barangays in Samboan town, located in southern part of Cebu province, are currently under hard lockdown.
“With the increased number and the fast transmission in the past three weeks, it really validated our suspicion that was a Delta variant,” said Bernadas.
Bernadas said it was possible that the 32 patients who were infected with variant have already recovered since their swab samples were taken last July 2 to 10 and were immediately sent to Philippine Genome Center (PGC) for examination.
“They are supposedly recovered already but we have to trace to check if they all of them have really recovered,” said Bernadas.
Bernadas said the DOH 7 is still checking if the possible local transmission of the variant.
Bernadas said it was just normal for the variant to mutate and assured that the current COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the mutated variant of the virus.
“That’s why we are really encouraging the public to have themselves vaccinated,” said Bernadas.