(SunStar) PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, July 26, 2021, said the country might again go into lockdown if the more aggressive Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2 spreads further.

“I hope it will not go any further but if something wrong happens, I’ll have to be strict,” Duterte said in another ad-lib during his final State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.

He said he will have to wait for the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the government’s policy-making body on coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response.

The Department of Health (DOH) said 119 Covid-19 cases with the Delta variant have been detected in the country, specifically in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Northern Mindanao, Central Luzon, Davao and Ilocos.