Up to 43 cases of the more contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant have been detected in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) shared in a statement.
The DOH is investigating an increase of 29 new Omicron cases in collaboration with the Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH), Thursday.
Those mentioned above were observed from 48 samples sequenced by the government since January 2.
The 29 new cases consist of:
- returning overseas Filipinos (10)
- local cases (19)
“The 29 Omicron variant cases are composed of 10 ROFs and 19 local cases with indicated addresses in the National Capital Region, bringing the total number of confirmed Omicron variant cases to 43,” according to a statement released by the DOH earlier.
Here is a breakdown of the status of 19 local Omicron cases:
active (14)
healed (3)
for verification (2)
The DOH is still verifying all passengers’ test results and health status on some flights to determine if there are still positives or passengers who were only symptomatic when they arrived in the country.
“Travelers who have arrived in the Philippines through these flights may call the DOH COVID-19 Hotlines at (02) 8942 6843 or 1555 or their respective LGUs to report their status,” said DOH.
The DOH says this even though they have not posted the flight numbers of the planes the passengers boarded.
The Department of Health previously said that Omicron would be up to eight times more contagious than the highly transmissible Delta variant.
PH has now 48 Omicron cases, additional 18 delta cases
Apart from the Omicron variant, there has also been an increase of 18 cases of the more contagious Delta variant in the Philippines, according to the government:
ROFs (8)
local cases (10)
The local cases are said to be from the National Capital Region.
“This update brings the total number of confirmed Delta variant cases to 8,497,” the DOH continued earlier.
The department continues to encourage all eligible individuals, especially senior citizens with comorbidities and children, to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and booster.
Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal are currently placed on a more stringent Alert Level 3 due to the sudden increase in COVID-19 cases recently, which has reached 2.87 million people.
Starting tomorrow, January 7, Laguna will also be placed in the Alert Level 3 classification.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.