Independent research group OCTA reiterated its call to the national and local governments, as well as the private sector and communities, to prepare for the possible impact of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the country.

The Delta variant has been detected in 17 Filipinos but no community transmission has happened so far.

"We were vigilant at that time and we did the correct measures to stop the spread. Now that we are on GCQ (general community quarantine), actually mas ngayon dapat talaga natin i-increase ang ating vigilance dahil marami nang taong lumalabas (this is the time that we should really increase our vigilance because more people are going out already) than before. We must also protect our borders dahil alam natin na yung mga bagong variants na ito ay nanggagaling din sa ibang bansa (because we know that these new variants also come from other countries)," OCTA Research fellow Dr. Butch Ong said in a PTV interview on Tuesday, June 29.

He noted that every time a new variant of COVID-19 emerges and spreads within communities, an uptick in cases is also usually observed.

"Ngayon, although below 1.0 , at any point pwede magreverse at umakyat ang ating reproduction number at maaaring dahil ito sa banta ng Delta variant (Now, although the reproduction number in Metro Manila is below 1.0, at any point our reproduction number can reverse and go up and this may be due to the threat of the Delta variant)," he pointed out.

Ong said the extension of the GCQ status in Metro Manila is a welcome development because "we have to be extra careful muna bago tayo mag ease ng restrictions natin (first before we ease our restrictions)."

OCTA is recommending the expansion of testing, tracing, and isolation, as well as the improvement of biosurveillance nationwide, because early detection of cases through biosurveillance and effective testing, tracing, and isolation to help slow the spread of the variant.

"Sana ma-increasan pa natin ang ating testing capacity at ma-increasan din natin ang ating genomic sequencing. Ibig sabihin hindi lang yung pagsa-swab para malaman natin kung positive or negative ka sa COVID-19 but to determine kung anong variant ang meron (Hopefully, we can increase our testing capacity and also increase our genomic sequencing. This means not only swabbing to find out if a person is positive or negative for COVID-19 but to determine what variant is present)," Ong said.

"We have to do this especially in our ports of entry like the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) and all the international airports dahil gusto natin malaman (because we want to know) if the other variants of concern especially the Delta variant or the Indian variant had entered ," he added.

OCTA also urged the private sector to ensure that their business establishments and workplaces are safe for both employees and customers.

The group also asked the government to accelerate the implementation of the NCR+8+10 vaccine deployment program.

It cited recent studies suggesting that a minimum of 30 percent vaccine coverage in a given population can slow the spread of the Delta variant.

"The challenge is to make sure that when the Delta variant enters the country through the NCR+8, our vaccine coverage is high enough that it will have difficulty spreading across the population," OCTA said.