The spokesperson of the Department of Health on Saturday said they are still waiting for "enough evidence" to officially declare there is a community transmission of COVID-19 Delta variant.

"Based on the samples and results we gathered from Philippine Genome Center (PGC), it shows that the community transmission is there," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during 'Laging Handa' public briefing.

"We just need enough evidence so that we can officially declare but definitely, the government has already pursued actions when it comes to transmission level in our country," Vergeire said.

With possible community transmission of Delta variant and the government easing the quarantine restriction in the National Capital Region (NCR) to modified enhanced community quarantine, Vergeire said implementation of granular lockdowns, continuous vaccination, shortened duration from time of COVID-19 detection to isolation and compliance to minimum public health standard will help lower COVID-19 cases in the country.

"If you look on the projections, there is a possibility that the cases will still increase in the next days that's why we must be prepared in all aspects of our response so that we can prevent further increase in the number of cases," she said.

"Based on projections we will have about 66,000 cases by August 31 and 269,000 active cases by September 30 here in NCR... If we improve our response we will not be able to reach this number," she added.

Asked on the effect of two-week ECQ in Metro Manila, Vergeire said it can only be experienced two to three weeks after the implementation due to the incubation of virus.

"Even though the ECQ has already ended, we can only see the effect of it whether the cases will go down or up after two to three weeks," she said

Vergeire said the DOH and other concerned agencies are crafting a recommendation to re-strategize the government's COVID-19 response in order to further control the number of cases.

"We just need few more analysis and protocol so that the IATF can approve (the recommendation)," she said. Ella Dionisio/DMS