MANILA – A health official said on Monday that another 633 cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus have been confirmed across the country.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated in an online media conference that 748 samples were collected on October 16.
About 633, or 84.36 percent, of the samples collected and sequenced were Delta variant cases, three, or 0.40 percent, were Alpha variant cases, and six, or 0.80 percent, were Beta variant cases.
As of October 17, a total of 17,147 samples have been sequenced, with 88.46 percent or 15,168 of them were listed having lineages.
“Incoming international travelers comprise 962 or 5.61 percent [samples sequenced for variants],” Vergeire said.
All regions, cities, and municipalities in the National Capital Region (NCR) have either Alpha or Beta variants, according to Vergeire.
The Delta variant, which was first discovered from returning overseas Filipinos, has now been found in all 17 regions, as well as all NCR cities and lone municipality.
Meantime, the P.3 variant, which was initially observed in only one region in the country, is now detected in all regions.
