The Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday, June 19, that uniform border control in the Philippines is the “most important” preventive measure against community transmission of the Delta COVID-19 variant, which the World Health Organization said is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease.

“Ang kailangan ho natin talagang gawin ngayon, ang pinakaimportante is our border control. Kailangan pare-pareho ang pagpapatupad natin across the regions at kung ano man ang nairekomenda natin base sa advice ng mga experts, ipatupad natin nang maayos,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa briefing on Saturday.

(What we really need to do now, most important, is our border control. There should be uniform implementation across the regions, and whatever we recommend based on the advice of experts should be implemented properly.)

Vergeire also asked institutions, particularly the aviation industry, to work with the government in implementing strict border protocols in order to prevent the variants from getting into the country.

Vergeire said that the protocols set by the government so far are working because the 13 individuals who contracted the Delta variant were detected through the government’s bordern control measures.

“So sana po ituloy lang natin ang ganitong mahigpit na border controls (we hope that we continue implementing strict border controls) so that we can prevent that it reaches our community and it will have community transmission,” she added.

Aside from border control, Vergeire urged local government units to implement minimum public health standards and the prevent-detect-isolate-treat-reintegrate (PDITR) response at the community level. She also encouraged the public to get vaccinated once eligible to fight the Delta variant.

“Ito po ang kaya po nating gawin para ma-prevent natin from having this variant being dominant here in the country (This is what we can do to prevent this variant from being the dominant variant here in the country),” Vergeire said.

The current national policy mandates a 10-day quarantine and swabbing on the seventh day from arrival in the country. Cebu, however, has modified its rules, requiring returning Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers to go on hotel quarantine for only two to three days, with swabbing upon arrival.

Delta variant

The Delta variant was first detected in India and was dubbed a “double mutant” because it contains two famous mutations. (READ: What we know so far about new COVID-19 variant found in India)

Vergeire said that initial studies about the variant showed that it causes severe infections and is 40% to 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant which was first detected in the United Kingdom. Persons who are infected with the Delta variant are more likely to be hospitalized for a longer period of time as well.

“Hindi naman sa pag-aalarma pero dapat cautious tayo…kailangan aware tayo sa sitwasyon. Na kung saka-sakaling mangyari ito, maaaring mas mabilis ang pagkalat ng infection, maaaring marami na naman ang maoospital,” Vergeire cautioned.

(This is not to alarm the public, but we should be cautious and aware of the situation  – that if ever this happens in the country, the spread of infection could be faster and many could end up in the hospitals again.)

On June 17, over 350 Indonesian health workers were reported to have been infected with the Delta variant despite being vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine. Of this number, dozens were reported to be hospitalized.

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Hundreds of vaccinated Indonesian health workers get COVID-19, dozens in hospital

The DOH earlier said that it wants complete data on Indonesian health workers’ Sinovac experience to further understand its implication on the Philippines, where a majority of the vaccines delivered are Sinovac. (TRACKER: The Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccine distribution)

While waiting for the complete data, Vergeire cited reports that most of those who contracted the disease were asymptomatic. This, she said, indicated that the vaccine was working. – Rappler.com