Five cases of the highly contagious Delta variant have been listed in Taguig, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

In an online media briefing Monday, Health Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire presented a table showing the presence of Delta variant cases in all the 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region (NCR) as of Aug. 7.

It listed Taguig as having five Delta variant cases of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This is an increase of one case from the four identified by DOH last Friday.

Of the 450 total Delta variant cases in the country, 146 are listed in the NCR including 18 new cases. Of the 146, four are active cases but the DOH did not identify which Metro Manila areas have these.

The DOH also put Taguig on a high risk classification based on two-week growth rates (TWGR) and average daily attack rate (ADAR) on COVID-19 cases.

According to the DOH, Taguig posted 112.69 percent TWGR for the periods July 12 to 25 versus July 26 to Aug. 8, classified by DOH as moderate risk, or having growth percentage change of more than zero to 200 percent.

Its moving ADAR from July 26 to Aug. 8 is 12.62, 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.

Taguig’s bed utilization is at 54.11 percent while its ICU (intensive care unit) utilization is at 75 percent, according to the DOH.

The DOH classified Taguig as on Alert Level 4, which requires 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.

At the start of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila last Aug. 6, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano warned residents that “the Delta variant is extremely contagious, and the previous protocols may need to be revisited to make sure that transmission is limited.”

“I know that too many of us have made sacrifices but I humbly ask that we sacrifice some more. If you can stay at home, please do so. For those who work in essential services, please continue to observe our health standards,” he said.

Cayetano said, “I am hoping that this ECQ will remain short and will immediately address the rapid rise of COVID cases in NCR. In the City of Taguig, we firmly believe that the key to quell this pandemic is to capacitate our private and public institutions and encourage behavioral change from our citizens. We want to prevent any further lockdowns or disruptions in our daily lives.”

During ECQ, he said, “we will focus on enhancing testing, contract tracing and hospital capacity. We lead the entire NCR in the number of PCR tests conducted and we have the lowest case fatality rate. These two things are important numbers when we look at overall strategy. Case detection, hospital utilization, and case fatalities are important indicators beyond simply the number of cases.”

As of Aug. 7, Taguig added 98 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total active cases to 738, up from 675 the previous day. It has 31,179 confirmed cases, 30,159 recoveries, and 282 deaths.