HEALTH experts said there are no shortcuts in curbing the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 besides enforcement of miniMUM PUBLIC HEALTH STANDARDS, INTENSIfiED detection and isolation, strict border control, and continuous vaccination. President Rodrigo Duterte urged the country’s medical professionals to come up with a plan to prevent the entry into the country of the Delta variant, which was first detected in India and was said to be 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant.

The Alpha variant, first discovered in the United Kingdom, was 60 percent more transmissible than the original strain. “It is really the [public health standards], the [case detection and isolation] and vaccination that works — maybe. We can make sure that we practice and maintain this; [we also need] to ensure strong border control,” Dr Alethea de Guzman, officer-in-charge director of the Department of Health’s (DoH) Epidemiology Bureau, said during a media briefing on Wednesday.

De Guzman said the number of cases in the NCR Plus areas continue their slow decline while other areas experience virus spike.

She said that amid a situation where the number of vaccinated citizens remains low, it is imperative to strengthen measures to prevent the Delta variant from entering the country.

Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco-de la Paz, executive director of the University of the PhilippinesNational Institutes of Health, said full vaccination is crucial in the fight notwithstanding the virus’ mutation capability

The Delta variant’s current mutation gives it increased transmissibility and the ability to escape antibodies.

The latest DoH data said the NCR or National Capital Region (Metro Manila) is now a low-risk area with a 23 percent infection rate decrease in two weeks and an average daily attack rate of 5.57 cases per 100,000 population. Hospital utilization rate is at 36.2 percent.

Luzon and the Plus areas — Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna — posted declining infection rate except Laguna that registered a plateau in the number of cases. Infection rate in the Cordillera Region remains high.

The Visayas and Mindanao, except for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and Northern Mindanao, displayed decreasing number of cases, while the Zamboanga Region posted an upward trend after a plateau.

On Wednesday, the country logged 4,353 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the total number of cases to 1.372 million. A total of 7,139 new recoveries were reported.