The Municipality of Pateros now has three cases of the highly contagious Delta variant, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Monday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire presented the latest data on Delta variant cases in the country including in Metro Manila.
According to the DOH, Pateros has three Delta cases, an increase of one case from last Friday when it announced that the municipality had two cases.
There are a total of 450 Delta variant cases in the country, of which 146 are listed in Metro Manila and out of these, four are active cases.
The DOH also classified Pateros, Malabon and Navotas as critical risk based on two-week growth rates (TWGR) and average daily attack rate (ADAR) on COVID-19 cases.
Pateros, the smallest local government unit (LGU) in Metro Manila, has 299 active coronavirus disease cases as of Aug. 8 and its TWGR is 364.38 percent, the highest in Metro Manila, based on the increase in the COVID-19 cases from July 12 to 25 and July 25 to Aug. 8.
Its moving ADAR is 34.97 percent, the highest in Metro Manila, and is classified as high risk, which the DOH defines as having “more than 7 per 100,000 population.”
Attack rate, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is the proportion of those who became ill after a specified exposure.
Pateros’ bed utilization is at a high risk level at 87.5 percent while its ICU (intensive care unit) utilization is at 50 percent.
The DOH also put Pateros on Alert Level 4. Under this level, the DOH recommends granular lockdowns and active case finding.
For areas with Delta variant cases, the DOH advises the use of rapid antigen tests. Under Alert Level 4, there is a need to increase hospital beds especially ICU beds; oxygen needs should be ensured; and severe and critical cases must be immediately and properly referred.
Also listed under Alert Level 4 in Metro Manila are Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Taguig, Malabon, Makati, San Juan, Valenzuela and Marikina.
Last Saturday, Pateros Mayor Miguel “Ike” Ponce III said they were tracing the close contacts of the two Delta variant cases that were initially identified in the municipality. .
“The DOH communicated and confirmed to us the presence of the Delta variant in our town. These cases tested positive [for COVID-19) in early July and these were isolated. But we are now intensifying contact tracing of the route of these two who tested for the Delta variant. We are closely monitoring this because we know that this (variant) is the scariest,” said Ponce.
Ponce surmised that the Delta variant cases in Pateros were the cause of the surge in COVID-19 cases in the municipality.