MANILA - Some 21 cases of the virulent Delta variant were admitted and tested at the Philippine General Hospital, an official said Thursday.

Eight of them were admitted at the PGH in which 1 died in the emergency room, 1 died in the intensive care unit, 5 were discharged and 1 still recovering in the hospital.

PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas Del Rosario said those who succumbed to the disease were not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Of the 13 remaining cases, 5 were healthcare workers at the hospital.

"We have 5 healthcare workers who tested positive for the Delta. All of them were fully vaccinated. The good news though is they all manifested mild symptoms. They were not hospitalized. They were not critically ill. Nobody died," Del Rosario said in an interview with ANC's "Rundown."

The healthcare workers, he said, received AstraZeneca and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines.

"The more important thing to know is the disease gets modified to a milder form. So, in a way that protects you from getting hospitalized and even dying from the disease if you get vaccinated," Del Rosario added.

Amid local transmission of the more contagious coronavirus variant, Del Rosario said the hospital was bracing for a "possible surge".

"We implemented stricter protocols in terms of infection control measures among our employees, our health-care workers. We also impose some degree of stricter protocols to the watchers, to the patients. We have also increased our supply, trying to replenish our oxygen supply, the equipment," he said.

"We're about 250-bed COVID facility so we're making sure that when the time comes that the numbers are increasing, then we should be ready," he added.

• PH detects 55 more Delta variant cases; total now at 119

The Philippines has so far recorded 119 cases of the Delta coronavirus variant. Of the figure, 103 have recovered, 4 have died while 12 are still considered active cases.

The Delta variant, which first emerged in India, is responsible for the latest wave of outbreaks in parts of the world.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv