Philippines reports 3 more Omicron deaths, total now 5

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday reported three more fatalities among the Omicron cases in the country, bringing the total to five.

In a message to reporters, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said all five are individuals with comorbidities.

“Three are seniors and all have comorbidities. One partially vaccinated, one unvaccinated, and the remaining 3 are still for verification,” Vergeire said.

The DOH previously stressed that senior citizens, those with comorbidities, and unvaccinated individuals remain at risk against Omicron, a highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

“While Omicron mostly presents with asymptomatic and mild disease, our data shows that those most at risk for fatalities are still the elderly and those with comorbidities and unvaccinated,” the DOH previously said.

The first two deaths among confirmed Omicron cases in the country involved unvaccinated senior citizens with pre-existing medical conditions.

The DOH said that upon verification, one of the first two fatalities was partially vaccinated.

The Philippines has so far recorded a total of 535 Omicron cases. —KBK, GMA News