The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday, Aug.31, that the Delta variant is already the most dominant version of the coronavirus circulating in the Philippines.

“I already confirmed that the Delta variant is now the dominant variant in the Philippines from existing data that we are seeing,” said WHO Country Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe in an online press briefing.

Abeyasinghe also confirmed that there is already community transmission of the Delta variant in the country.

Citing the latest whole genome sequencing report of the Philippine health authorities, “nearly 70 percent” of the COVID-19 samples were “attributed” to the Delta variant, said Abeyasinghe.

“So if that is a representative sample---that is actually happening in the country and the rapid increase in the number of cases that we are seeing attest to that because that is what we know about the Delta variant,” he said.

“Yes, with this kind (of) transmission and numbers, we are in community transmission of the Delta variant,” he added.

The WHO official said that what is happening in the Philippines is also being experienced by other nations at present.

“This situation is not entirely surprising,” said Abeyasinghe.

“What we are seeing here in the Philippines is not unique, that's been seen in many other countries,” he added.

More cases expected; follow health protocols

The WHO official said that more COVID-19 cases are expected to be reported in the coming days amid the threat of the Delta variant.

"We don't know whether....yesterday's number is the highest number. It could predictably still be higher in the next few days. And as more and more cases are confirmed, we expect more and more patients who will require hospital admissions," said Abeyasinghe.

The Philippines logged 22,366 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, Aug. 30---the highest number of new infections recorded on a single day since the start of the pandemic.

The WHO official also appealed to the public to strictly follow the health protocols.

“We need to rise up now. Even though we are tired of following the minimum public health standards, although we don't like to do physically distancing, although we find it difficult to avoid crowded enclosed settings, although we don't like the fact that we can’t get together as families or groups of friends-----that is what we continue to need to do, because we are faced with a more transmissible variant, a variant that can transmit easier (and) can affect everybody,” he said.

Abeyasinghe also appealed to mild COVID-19 patients to occupy the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities in order for hospitals to accommodate severe and critical cases.

“My plea to you today is that if you are young, if you don't have comorbidities, if you are not at risk----you don't need to go and occupy your hospital bed. Monitor the symptoms," Abeyasinghe said.

"If you fit those criteria, try to isolate (yourself) at home. If you can't isolate at home, because you have congested home situations, because you don't have enough room; make use of quarantine facilities---- go to temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, don't go to a hospital," he added.

"It's incumbent upon you as a member of the community to do what you can, so that we reserve the space in the hospitals for those who really need it," he furthered.

Vaccinate elderly, people with comorbidities

Abeyasinghe urged the Philippine government to further ramped up its COVID-19 vaccination efforts, particularly for senior citizens and those with comorbidities since they are considered the most vulnerable and the most at risk groups.

“I’m happy to note that we have seen significant progress in the last five months when the vaccination started. We believed that nearly 50 percent of elderly people in the country are now vaccinated and about 70 percent of comorbid people are vaccinated. However, there are still areas where the elderly are not protected enough,” he said.

Abeyasinghe particularly flagged the areas of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Mimaropa, Soccsksargen, Davao Region, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Central Visayas.

“In all of these regions, the coverage ranges from 22 percent to less than 40 percent of elderly populations. We need to do much better because we know that the Delta variant is going to spread everywhere and when it comes, it’s going to affect everybody but we are going to see severe disease developing in the elderly and the comorbid,” said Abeyasinghe.

Abeyasinghe said that it is “twice as important that we ensure that the elderly and comorbid population in these regions are fully vaccinated.”

“If you want to maximize the benefit of your vaccination program, target/prioritize these groups. Vaccinating other people is not going to prevent an overwhelming healthcare system,” he said.

“If the healthcare system is overwhelmed, you will have to go to stringent quarantine measures. And when that happens, your economy will suffer. So we want to prevent that,” he added.