By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas is again appealing to the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to the danger posed by the COVID-19 Delta variant.

During last Friday’s online townhall meeting with members of the region’s media, Dr. Cynthia Palmes Saloma, executive director of the Philippine Genome Center, cited the importance of getting vaccinated in order to ward off the Delta variant which she pointed out the most dangerous and transmissible form of coronavirus.

Saloma revealed that they will set up a new genome center based at the UP Visayas in Iloilo in order to help detect any new variants in the region.

Based on data regarding the two patients infected with the Delta variant in Antique province’s Pandan town, a total of 27 close contacts were identified within the household and the local community.

The DOH-6 identified eight first later contacts, 17 second layer, and two third layer contacts.

Seventeen of the close contacts who were identified are from the Justice Calixto Zaldivar Hospital in Antique, of which two were admitted.

However, all close contacts have completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine period and all have recovered.

After conducting a consultation meeting with local chief executives in the region, the DOH-6 has raised the need for aggressive community testing in areas of high burden cases.

It has also been recommended for a readiness assessment of strategic local government units hospitals regarding absorptive capacity./DGB, WDJ