Two cases of the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus have been detected in the province and city of Iloilo.

The first case in the city involved a 30-year-old male from Mandurriao district.

The infected patient is an employee of a company in Molo district, according to the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU).

He underwent COVID-19  testing at the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) on July 9 after experiencing an influenza-like illness and yielded a positive result.

Because of the high viral load, his samples were taken to the Philippine Genome Center for sequencing.

The report on the sequenced sample was received by CESU on Thursday, July 29.

The patient, who has not been fully vaccinated, claimed that he has no travel history and no close contact in his workplace.

His wife also tested positive for the viral disease, while their two minor children tested negative for COVID-19 and currently staying with relatives.

The couple is currently on strict home quarantine.

Mayor Jerry Treñas ordered to place the residence and workplace under lockdown to pave the way for extensive contact tracing and RT-PCR testing for the patient’s co-workers.

“As this is a Delta variant case, we will transfer the case to a separate quarantine facility so we can fully monitor him,” he said.

“We assure you that the city government has put in place measures to handle delta variant,” the mayor added.

Meanwhile, the first case in the province involved a 32-year-old dialysis female patient from the town of Cabatuan.

The Department of Health (DOH-6) said the patient’s swab sample was taken on July 8. She was discharged from the WVMC on July 26 but was readmitted on July 27 due to difficulty of breathing.

“Repeat COVID-19 testing was done on July 28 and the result came out negative on July 29. However, the patient expired at 1:09 a.m. on the same day.”

The DOH-6 also reported a Delta variant case involving a 46-year-old male from the town of Barotac Nuevo.

“Details as to the travel history are still being verified. The case is presently still in Manila but was tagged in Iloilo as his declared residence,” it said.IMT