Philippines detects 1st COVID-19 Lambda variant case

MANILA - The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday confirmed the first case of the Lambda coronavirus variant in a 35-year-old female.

"The case was asymptomatic and recovered after undergoing the 10-day isolation period," the DOH said, adding it is conducting backtracing and case investigation.

The Lambda variant was classified as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization. The DOH said the Lambda variant "has the potential to affect the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 and is currently being monitored for its possible clinical significance."

The DOH also reported 14,749 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, the second-highest daily tally since the outbreak began in January last year.

The caseload brings the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,741,616. Since Wednesday, the Philippines has been reporting over 12,000 new cases as hospitals struggle with a surge of COVID-19 patients.

The death toll climbed to 30,340 after 270 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.

An additional 182 highly contagious Delta variant cases were also detected in the latest batch of genome sequencing, bringing the total in the country to 807, including 17 deaths. Aside from the Delta variant, the DOH said it also detected more Alpha and Beta variants cases.

Health authorities said the highly infectious Delta variant is driving the nationwide surge of infections.

The government is doubling its efforts to control COVID-19 hospitalizations in Metro Manila and several high-risk areas across the country.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila and some areas under two-week hard lockdown since Aug. 6 to curb the Delta variant's spread and prevent crowding in hospitals.

The Philippines, with a population of 110 million, has tested over 16 million people since the outbreak.