MANILA—The two new Delta variant cases in Antique had no history of travel outside of the Philippines prior to being infected, according to head of the Local Health Support Division of Department of Health-Centers for Health Development in Region 6.

Dr. Maria Sophia Pulmones said both cases are considered local cases, and that authorities are investigating if they caught the disease in the area and if this also contributed to the increase in cases in the province.

"Sa ngayon, based sa aming coordination sa Provincial Health Office ng Antique, [they] are considered as local cases. So walang history of travel outside of Philippines. Posibleng andu'n sila nahawa sa area nila," Pulmones said.

(Based on our coordination with the Provincial Health Office of Antique, they are considered as local cases. So there is no history of travel outside of the Philippines. We are looking at the possibility that they were infected in the area.)

One of the patients, tagged Delta variant Patient No. 34 is a 78-year-old female who died last May 31.

Meanwhile, the last case, Patient No. 35, completed the 14-day quarantine prescribed by government protocols, and was tagged as recovered by June 30.

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Both were unvaccinated at the time, and were tested for the disease on May 28. Their genome sequencing results came out last Friday, as part of the 16 additional Delta variant cases logged in the Philippines.

Pulmones said her office is coordinating with the provincial health office of Antique to get updates on contact-tracing efforts.

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"We are coordinating with LGU kung ano ang nagawa sa close contacts ng 2 Delta variant positive cases. 'Yung recommendation is to do the 3rd generation pero ang priority is yung close contact nila," Pulmones said.

(We are coordinating with the local government on what efforts have been done to detect the close contacts. The recommendation is to do it until the third generation contacts but the priority at the moment is close contacts.)

The number of Delta COVID-19 variant patients in the Philippines stands at 35, of which includes 11 local cases tallied last Friday.

The said variant was attributed to the spike in COVID-19 cases in India, where it was first detected, and in parts of Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia where healthcare workers are battling another surge.

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