By Pearl Gumapos
The Department of Health on Saturday reported 35 total cases of the Delta variant with 33 having recovered while two died.
“Itong 35 na total Delta variant cases in the country [ay] wala nang aktibong kaso. Lahat po nung 33 ay nakarecover at may dalawang namatay,” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a Laging Handa public briefing.
Vergeire assured that the DOH is conducting proper contact tracing to better understand the transmission of the variant.
“Sa ngayon, we’re doing intensive contact tracing among these individuals who were positive for the Delta variant. Dito po natin makikita kung may link sa bawat kaso at kung saan talaga nag-originate itong mga sakit na ito,” she said.
“We will be informing the public in the next coming days,” she added.
Vergeire said in order to prepare for the possible surge of the Delta variant, the government must mobilize DOH’s Four-Door Framework.
“We need to mobilize our Doors 3 and 4 in our Four-Door Policy. Ito pong Door 3, kailangan pag-igtingin ng ating mga local government. Para naman sa Door 4, this is improving our health system capacity. Kailangan lahat ngayon ay handa na to expand the number of beds in hospitals,” she said.
“We should do inventories of our oxygen supply. We should pre-position logistics already like drugs and other supplies para lahat tayo ay handa.”
Meanwhile, on the reconsideration of allowing children to step foot outside, Vergeire said there is the need to study the situation as there are several factors to be considered.
“Kailangan lang talaga let us all follow the safety protocols so that we can be protected. We will be monitoring closely and continuously assess para makapag-rekomenda tayo sa IATF,” she said. -rir