COVID-19 Delta variant cases in Davao Region rose to eight after two more specimens were confirmed with the highly infectious variant on Monday, August 9.
Dr. Rachel Joy Pasion, Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit head of the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao), confirmed in a virtual presser that the two specimens were coming from two returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), whose addresses were located in Davao City and Carmen in Davao del Norte.
She said ROF in Davao del Norte came from Saudi Arabia, while the ROF in Davao City came from Africa.
Pasion said the ROF from Davao del Norte secured a negative swab test result before the specimen was discovered to be positive for Delta, while the ROF from Davao City is still being investigated after his return on July 24, 2021.
The DOH official said they will be providing additional details on the ROFs within the day.
Pasion, meanwhile, said all the confirmed Delta variant cases in the region have recovered.
Overall, Davao City has the most Delta-positive specimens with five, followed by Davao del Norte (2) and Davao del Sur (1).
Pasion said there is a need to ramp up the vaccination rollout, especially in the vulnerable population, to catch up with the growing number of Delta cases.
"We shall continue to prioritize or give priority to all our lolas, lolos, (grandmothers, grandfathers) and those relatives na may mga (with) comorbidities or with underlying conditions," she said.
Vaccination sites are also requested to have priority lanes for A2 and A3.
Davao Region recorded its first two Delta variant cases on July 25 -- one from Tagum City in Davao del Norte and the other from Davao City. Another two were reported on July 31, both from Davao City. An additional two were confirmed on August 6, 2021 -- one from Davao City and the other from Davao del Sur.
In a Facebook post on August 9, the Sta. Cruz Regional Health Unit in Davao del Sur confirmed that the town recorded its first Delta variant case.
"Sa karon, nagapadayon ang atong pagpasiugda sa (As of now, we are continuously conducting) contact tracing, RT-PCR [reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction] testing, ug (and) quarantine/isolation aron malikayan ang dugang pagtaas sa kaso sa Covid-19 dinhi sa atong lungsod (and to avoid additional Covid-19 cases in our city)," the regional health unit said.
Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said on Monday afternoon in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio that the city is not expecting to be placed under higher quarantine status like enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
"We do not see [that] because ang atong (our) numbers have been the same for the past two weeks, [and] naa ta sa (we are at) Moderate Risk. We do not see the IATF [Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases] giving a community quarantine status sa atoa diri sa (here in) Davao City nga (that is) ECQ," Duterte-Carpio said.
"But in any event, since we do not know how the situation will spin diri sa (here in) Davao City, especially with the Delta variant, we can see all over the world, angay na mag-andam ta. And angay na maging consistent ta sa atong pag-observe sa (we should be ready and be consistent in observing) minimum health standards para dili musaka atong cases (so our cases won't spike)," Duterte-Carpio added.
According to health experts, the Delta variant is being regarded as highly contagious compared to other variants.
