ILOILO City – Cases of various variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in Western Visayas rose to 227.
As of Aug. 12, data from the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6 showed 91 cases of the Alpha variant – 17 were returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and 74 local cases.
Seventy-two cases of the Beta variant were also recorded, of which 11 were ROFs and 61 local cases.
A Gamma variant case – an ROF – was also listed.
As to the Delta variant, 41 cases have been reported – five were ROFs and 36 were local cases.
However, yesterday (Aug. 13) DOH-6 reported two cases of the Delta variant in Bacolod City.
The Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants are classified as “variants of concerns” because they seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States.
Meanwhile, the regional office recorded 20 cases of the Theta variant – two ROFs and 18 local cases.
The Theta is a new COVID-19 variant officially designated as Lineage “P.3” detected in the Philippines on March 2021. It has been classified recently by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant under “alert for further monitoring” because of its decreased and sporadic detection.
As of Aug. 12, Iloilo province had the most number of cases of COVID-19 variants with 93, followed by Antique (62), Iloilo City (19), Negros Occidental (18), Guimaras (14), Capiz (11), Aklan (five), and Bacolod City (three)./PN
