MANILA: The Philippines' health department on Friday reported the first local cases of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, including one patient who died.
Sixteen new cases of the Delta strain were detected in the country, including 11 classified as local cases, according to Health Under-Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Two of the local cases were identified in the Metro Manila region. One person died after being rushed to hospital on June 28, while the other recovered, Vergeire said.
Six infections in the southern region of Mindanao were "part of a large cluster of cases" but those affected had recovered, she added.
Two other cases were detected in the central province of Antique and one from Pampanga province, north of Manila, the health department said.
The new infections bring the total number of Delta variant cases in the Philippines to 35 since the first imported case was detected in May.
Despite the local cases, there was still no community transmission of the Delta variant in the Philippines, said Althea De Guzman, chief epidemiologist of the Department of Health.
"We haven't been able to link one case to another," she said, noting that there were sporadic, isolated infections. "Of course we are continually investigating."
Vergiere urged the public to stay alert and strictly follow health standards such as wearing face masks and face shields, keeping a distance and avoiding crowded places. "We don't need to panic," she said. "What we need is that we are always aware, we are always cautious... and we always follow public health standards."
The Philippines' total Covid-19 caseload stood at 1,490,665 on Thursday. The death toll was at 26,314, the health department said.
Meanwhile, four suspected militants were killed in a firefight with government security forces in the southern Philippines, police said Friday. One suspect was also arrested in the shootout on Thursday in Lamitan City in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, a police report said.
A joint team of police and army troopers were serving an arrest warrant against four suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf group when the firefight erupted. Three of those killed were among the suspects wanted for murder and other illegal activities such as kidnapping and hijacking in Basilan, the report said.
One of the wanted suspects was arrested, while another companion was killed, it added. The Abu Sayyaf is the most violent group in the Philippines and has been blamed for some of the worst attacks in the country, as well as high-profile kidnappings for ransom.
The militants have abducted dozens of foreigners for ransom since 2000. The group has allied itself with the IS group, which has claimed responsibility for several bombings in the Philippines. - dpa
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