(UPDATED) The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday, August 29, 2021, reported over 500 additional Delta variant cases in 13 regions and more than 200 other cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) with the Alpha, Beta and P.3 variants.
The 516 additional Delta (B.1.617.2) cases consisted of 473 local cases, 31 returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) and 12 under verification.
These were found in coronavirus-positive swab samples taken from patients with addresses from the following regions:
The DOH also announced 73 additional Alpha (B.1.1.7) cases, 81 Beta (B.1.1351) cases, and 41 P.3 variant cases among the 748 samples subjected to whole genome sequencing by the University of the Philippines - Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC).
These variants, especially the Delta, are believed to be driving the latest wave of Covid-19 cases nationwide. The daily count reached a record high 19,441 on Saturday, August 28.
Of the total Covid-19 count in the Philippines, 2,669 were caused by Beta, 2,395 by Alpha, 1,789 by Delta and 429 by P.3, a variant that was first detected in Central Visayas. There were also two Gamma (P.1) cases.
These cases with variants constitute 57.5 percent of the 12,667 samples sequenced by the UP-PGC as of August 27.
Case line list
The new Delta cases raised the total to 1,789 in the Philippines as of August 27.
Five more patients had died, bringing the Delta variant mortalities in the country to 33.
Of the 516 additional cases, six were still active while 505 have been tagged as recovered.
These brought the active Delta cases to 38 nationwide and the recoveries to 1,713.
The Delta cases now comprise 14.12 percent of the 12,667 samples sequenced so far.
Of the 73 additional Alpha cases, 71 were local cases and two were ROFs. All have been tagged as recovered.
According to the DOH, there are now 2,395 Alpha cases in the country. These make up 18.91 percent of the total samples sequenced.
Of the 2,395 Alpha cases, 129 had died and 2,242 have recovered. There remained 19 active cases as of August 27.
With the 81 additional Beta cases, there are now 2,669 Beta cases in the country, comprising 21.07 percent of the sequenced samples.
Of the 81 newly detected cases, 78 were local, two were ROF and one was still being verified.
Three cases died, bringing the Beta mortalities to 98, while 78 were tagged as recovered, raising the total recoveries from Beta to 2,546.
As of August 27, there were still 15 active Beta cases.
The 41 additional P.3 cases, meanwhile, were all local cases. One died while 40 recovered.
Of the 429 total P.3 cases, six had died, 421 have recovered and one remained active.
The P.3 cases make up 3.39 percent of the sequenced samples.
The P.3, formerly known as Theta, was initially classified by the World Health Organization as a variant of interest. It was downgraded to the list of variants with alerts for further monitoring pending assessment of its public health significance. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / VoxPop Philippines)