TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) on Monday (Aug. 23) announced 466 new cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and declared that community transmission of the strain is taking place in at least two core regions of the country.
On Monday, the DOH announced that of the 466 new Delta variant cases, 442 are local cases. These include 201 in Metro Manila, 69 in Central Luzon, 52 in Western Visayas, 49 in Calabarzon, 19 in Central Visayas, 14 in Mimaropa, 11 in Davao, seven in Cagayan Valley, seven in Soccsksargen, six in Northern Mindanao, four in Bicol, and three in Ilocos.
This brings the total number of Delta cases reported in the Philippines to 1,273. The country also reported 2,322 Alpha variant cases, 2,588 Beta variant cases, and 41 Theta variant cases.
The DOH stressed that there is not yet enough evidence to conclude that community transmission of the Delta variant is taking place across the Philippines. However, it did confirm that community transmission of the strain is occurring in Calabarzon and Metro Manila.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has reported 1,839,635 coronavirus cases and 31,810 deaths.