MANILA — The Philippines has recorded its first fatality due to the more transmissible COVID-19 variant, the health department said Monday.

“As to these 25 cases detected with the UK variant, we have 2 remaining active cases, we have 1 who died, (while) the rest, the 22 have already recovered,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a virtual briefing.

Vergeire said the fatality is an 84-year-old patient from La Trinidad, Benguet. He succumbed to the disease sometime in the 3rd or 4th week of January.

“Hindi pa ho natin nakuha yung ibang detalye. But apparently, nung kausap natin yung regional office natin, they said this person never went out, seldom. Nandun lang daw sa loob ng bahay at walang ibang contact," Vergeire said.

"Tinitignan natin ano yung source ng infection and ano ang ibang circumstances."

(We haven’t received other details. But our regional office said this person never went out, or only seldom. The person reportedly stayed inside the house and did not have any contact. So we are looking at the source of infection and other circumstances.)

The man was among the additional 8 UK variant cases identified by the Philippines last week.

• READ: PH detects 8 more cases of UK COVID-19 variant; 1 case found in Cebu

As of Sunday, the Philippines has recorded 537,310 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 26,333 active infections, 11,179 fatalities, and 499,798 recoveries.

• Philippines' COVID-19 tally hits 537,310 with 1,790 new cases

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