The Department of Health (DOH) announced 516 additional confirmed cases of the more infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 in the Philippines.

This brings the total number of Delta variant cases to 1,789 as of Sunday, August 29, said the DOH in a statement.

Of the 516 new Delta variant cases, 473 are local cases and 31 are found among returning overseas Filipinos (ROF), while the origins of 12 cases are still being verified.

Among this latest batch, 505 have been tagged as recovered, 5 have died, while 6 are still active cases.

The 473 local cases are from the following regions:

• National Capital Region – 114
• Calabarzon – 79
• Central Luzon – 64
• Northern Mindanao – 48
• Cagayan Valley – 32
• Ilocos Region – 24
• Central Visayas – 23
• Davao Region – 22
• Mimaropa – 20
• Bicol Region – 16
• Western Visayas – 13 
• Zamboanga Peninsula – 12
• Cordillera Administrative Region – 6

The DOH also announced 73 additional cases of the Alpha variant, 81 cases of the Beta variant, and 41 cases of the P.3 variant.

As a result, there are now 2,395 total Alpha variant cases and 2,669 Beta variant cases in the country.

These new cases of the different COVID-19 variants were detected from 748 samples that are part of the latest batch of whole genome sequencing.

There are concerns, however, that the actual numbers of Delta variant cases may be far higher, as the Philippine Genome Center is only sequencing a small percentage of the positive cases.

On August 23, the DOH confirmed the community transmission of the Delta variant in Metro Manila and Calabarzon.

Metro Manila remains under a modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ, while Calabarzon and nearby provinces are either under MECQ or a general community quarantine with heightened restrictions until September 7. – Rappler.com