Cagayan de Oro’s Delta variant cases climb to 21

Eight more COVID-19 Delta variant infections were detected in Cagayan de Oro as the number of active cases in the city nearly breached the 2,000-mark on Saturday, August 7.

Dr. Ted Yu of the Cagayan de Oro City Health Office said the eight cases, including a 6-year-old child, were confirmed by the Philippine Genome Center, which released its findings on Friday, August 6.

The findings brought the number of confirmed Delta variant cases so far in Cagayan de Oro to 21.

Yu said the patients came from the urban villages of Kauswagan, Bulua, Balulang, and Carmen.

He said one patient infected with the Delta variant died while four were already sent home before it was confirmed that they tested positive for the highly infectious variant.

Yu said the Delta variant infections made things difficult in the city because the cases were widely spread throughout Cagayan de Oro. (READ: More facilities, few workers: Cagayan de Oro hospitals overheating)

“It’s unlike before when the Delta variant affected two families only. This time, the variant spread to six barangays,” Yu said during the news briefing at the city hall on Saturday.

He said the eight Delta variant carriers were taken to a city hall-run treatment and monitoring facility.

Mayor Oscar Moreno ordered intensive contact-tracing operations to identify those who have had close contacts with the Delta variant carriers.

In its report on Friday, the City Health Office said 136 new COVID-19 infections were detected in the city, bringing the total active cases to 1,942.

Yu said 56 of the 136 people were workers of a construction firm building the multimillion-peso flood control dike along the Cagayan River.

Cagayan de Oro is under enhanced community quarantine until August 15. – Rappler.com

Froilan Gallardo is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.