No confirmation of Delta community transmission, but let’s assume, DOH-6 says

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) on Tuesday said there was still no confirmed indication of community transmission of the “more contagious” Delta variant (B.1.617.2) of COVID-19.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Non-Communicable Diseases program head Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray, DOH-6 designated spokesperson, said that they were still waiting for the phylogenetic analysis from the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) in Quezon City.

Phylogenetic analysis in genome sequencing of COVID-19 refers to the establishment of transmission in a cluster to identify if the confirmed cases are connected to each other.

But Natalaray said that while there is no confirmation yet of community transmission of the Delta variant in the region, the public must still assume that it is already happening.

“We can only consider community transmission if there is a clustering of [Delta] cases and we can no longer link cases to each other. We need evidence for that declaration. [But] we are informing the public that we should assume that there is Delta variant community transmission for us to be directed of our protocols and guidelines to strengthen [COVID response measures] and following minimum public health standards,” Natalaray said.

The DOH-WV CHD’s latest press release issued on Tuesday clarified the guidelines where cases detected to be of the Delta variant should show negative in their swab test before they can be tagged as recovered.

Patients who have been released prior to detection of the Delta variant shall be required to undergo strict home quarantine pending a negative COVID test result. Those who tested positive shall remain under isolation until they test negative.

This was also in light of two confirmed COVID-19 cases in the DOH-WV CHD’s ranks which had been identified to have the Delta variant, as first announced by the city government.

The first employee tested positive for COVID on July 26, but last physically reported for work on July 22. The second employee last appeared at the office on July 26, but started showing signs symptoms on July 27.

All three close contacts of the two employees had already been swab-tested and have shown negative results for COVID.

Both employees have tested negative for COVID in their repeat swab test on August 10, but in compliance with the Iloilo City Health Office’s protocol, both will be subjected to repeat testing again.

Their close contacts at home and at the office premises will also undergo repeat testing today, August 25.

The city government in a statement on their Facebook page said that the regional office had been placed under lockdown due to these cases.

Natalaray clarified, however, that it was impossible to completely close the regional office due to the nature of their work, but alternative work arrangements were being implemented for those who would not be necessary to perform their functions in the office.

She added that they have been implementing weekly disinfections in the office, the most recent being last Monday, August 23.

“We have changed work arrangement, wherein only skeletal essential workforce would be allowed. We cannot lockdown the whole office because we have essential services and we have [COVID] vaccines arriving, distributing logistics, and doing biosurveillance in the region. Our vulnerable persons will be subjected to home quarantine and non-essential persons will also be subjected to home quarantine until September 6,” she said.