As the strain spread rapidly in other parts of Southeast Asia, more transmissible variants of COVID-19 were discovered.

The Philippine Ministry of Health said on Friday that the Philippines has confirmed the first locally transmitted case of the more contagious variant of the Delta Coronavirus, and one person has died of the disease.

The Deputy Minister of Health Maria Rosario Virgil said at a press conference that of the 16 new COVID-19 cases found to be infected with the Delta variant, 11 were marked as local infections.

Vergeire said that one of the patients with the variant died after being taken to a hospital in the capital Manila on June 28.

Five of the people who tested positive were Filipinos returning from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United Kingdom.

The Philippine authorities have been working hard to prevent this variant from spreading in the community after causing a surge in infections in the area.

This variant was first discovered in India and is believed to be a key factor in the surge in cases, not only in other parts of India. Asia-Pacific But also in the UK.