THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported that 516 more cases of the highly contagious Delta variant were detected, bringing the total count of cases to 1,789.

The DOH said In a statement, the new Delta variant cases were from 748 samples from 67 laboratories sequenced by the DOH, the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center, and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health.

Of the additional Delta variant cases, 473 are local, 31 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROF), and 12 cases are still being probed whether they are local or ROF cases.

The breakdown of the 473 local Delta variant cases are as follows:

114 from Metro Manila;

24 from Ilocos Region;

32 from Cagayan Valley;

64 from Central Luzon;

79 from Calabarzon;

20 from Mimaropa;

16 from Bicol region;

13 from Western Visayas;

23 from Central Visayas;

12 from Zamboanga Peninsula;

48 from Northern Mindanao;

22 from Davao Region; and

6 from Cordillera Administrative Region.

The DOH said six out of the 1,789 total Delta variant cases are active; five cases died while 505 were classified as recovered.

International health experts previously reported that the Delta variant doubles risk of hospitalization while the variant remains 50% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom earlier this year.

The Delta variant is also declared as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization which means it could have an increase in transmissibility or increase in virulence or decrease in effectiveness of public health.

Meanwhile, the DOH also said 73 more Alpha variant cases were discovered, including 71 local cases and two ROF cases. This brought the total number of Alpha variant cases in the Philippines to 2,395, with 2,242 tagged as recovered and 129 classified as deceased.

Cases of Beta variant, which was first detected in South Africa, meanwhile reached 2,669, including 81 new ones. Of the total Beta variant cases, 2,546 are recoveries while 98 are fatalities.

The P.3 variant, which was detected in the Philippines, rose to 429 cases, with 41 new ones. Of the 429, a total of 421 recovered and six died.

The DOH said there were no new cases of the Gamma and Lambda variants in the Philippines.

Total Gamma cases, which originated from Brazil, were at two and were all tagged as recovered. The Lambda variant, which was first reported in Peru, remained at one case.

The DOH noted that Alpha and Beta variant cases were still the highest number of coronavirus variants in the country. But it warned that the Delta variant is increasing in communities.

In a related development, the DOH reported that around 74% of the 4,100 intensive care unit beds intended for COVID-19 cases across the country were occupied as of Saturday, Aug. 28.

In its daily case bulletin, the DOH also said that 73% of the 1,400 ICU beds in the National Capital Region were also being used.

The DOH data also showed that 70% of the 14,600 beds in COVID-19 wards nationwide are filled with patients. The 4,200 beds in the COVID-19 wards in Metro Manila are 73% occupied.

The occupancy rates nationwide and in the NCR are considered “high risk” as it is more than 70% but less than 85%.

A facility is classified as critical if the bed utilization rate is more than 85%, while an occupancy rate between 60% to 69% is considered moderate.

Moreover, the DOH data also showed that 55% of the entire country’s 3,200 ventilators are currently in use, while 61% of the 1,100 ventilators in the NCR are occupied.

The Philippines on Saturday reported a new all-time high record of 19,441 fresh COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,935,700.

Meanwhile, the DOH also said Saturday that the COVID-19 bed capacity of almost half of the cities in the National Capital Region have reached a “high risk” status amid the continued rise in new cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that to augment the capacity, the government is putting up tents and modular hospitals to accommodate more patients.

Vergeire added that more than 70 areas in the country are under Alert Level 4 which means that cases continue to rise while hospitals have more than 70% utilization.

“We expect the number of cases will continue to increase in the coming days,” she added.