DOH identifies 3 close contacts of BA.4 case

The Department of Health (DOH) has identified three close contacts of the first case of the Omicron subvariant BA.4 in the Philippines.

Health Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said the BA.4 case completed his 14-day isolation before interacting with the three close contacts.

De Guzman said the household contacts were asymptomatic and fully vaccinated. The DOH said their testing status is being verified.

The first case is a returning overseas Filipino who flew in from Qatar and has a travel history to South Africa. The patient remained asymptomatic despite being unvaccinated.

The BA.4 subvariant is considered a variant of concern by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control due to its higher transmissibility and risk of evading immune protection.

Despite this, De Guzman said there is no data yet showing that the variant causes more severe symptoms.

Meanwhile, she also announced that the BA.2.12.1 cases in Puerto Princesa have already finished their isolation.

There are a total of 17 cases of the BA.2.12.1 subvariant in the country— two in the National Capital Region, 12 in Puerto Princesa, and three in Western Visayas.

“Sila ay mga nakatapos na ng isolation. ‘Yung mga close contact, which is from that same group, has also been able to finish ‘yung kanilang quarantine,” she said in a media briefing.

(They have completed their isolation. Their close contacts, which are from that same group, have also been able to finish their quarantine.)

Increase in COVID-19 cases

According to De Guzman, a slight increase in COVID-19 cases was observed in the National Capital Region and Luzon.

Despite this, the country and most of its regions remain under the minimal risk case classification against COVID-19.

“Gayon pa man, kung titignan ang ating iba’t ibang island groups, may bahagyang pagtaas ng kaso sa National Capital Region… at sa kabuuan ng Luzon… mula ng kalagitnaan ng Mayo,” she said.

(Despite this, if we look at our other island groups, there is a slight increase in NCR, Luzon, since the middle of May.)

Despite this, De Guzman said COVID-19 cases remain low with less than 100 per all island groups since April this year.

“Bagaman mababa na ang ating mga kaso, kinakailangan pa rin natin i-monitor ang mga pagtaas na ito kahit na hindi ito na tra-translate sa pagtaas ng ating national positivity rate,” De Guzman said.

(Though our cases remain low, we still need to monitor the increase in cases even though it is not yet translating into an increase in our national positivity rate.)

To keep cases low, she urged the public to comply with minimum public health standards and to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, De Guzman said the rise in cases cannot be attributed solely to the BA.4 subvariant and the BA.2.12.1 subvariant.

“‘Yung nakita nating pagtaas ng kaso ay hindi lamang nitong Mayo. Mula naman tayo ay nagsimulang magbukas ng ating borders, nakakakita tayo ng paonti-onting pagtaas ng kaso,” she said.

(We saw an increase in cases not only this May. Since we opened our borders, we observed a slight increase in our cases.)

“So itong pinaka recent na nakita natin ay mahirap din naman sabihin dahil lamang ito sa pagpasok ng BA.4 o kaya yung ibang emerging variants natin,” she added.

(So we cannot attribute this recent rise solely to the entrance of the BA.4 or our emerging variants.)

De Guzman stressed that the rise in cases is also leading to an increase in hospital admissions, especially in severe and critical cases.

Severe and critical 

According to De Guzman, hospital discharges from November 2021 to May 2022 show that majority of the severe and critical COVID-19 admissions are not vaccinated.

Among the 11,702 severe and critical discharged cases, 69% or 8,041 are only partially or not vaccinated while 31% or 3,661 are fully vaccinated.

“Muli inuulit namin sa Kagawaran ng Kalusugan na wag natin baliwalain ang pagpapabakuna. Ito ay ligtas at nakakapagbigay sa atin ng proteksyon dahil bagaman mababa na ang mga naitatala nating kaso ng COVID-19 hindi pa rin nawawala ang virus,” she said.

(Again, we are urging the public to not disregard vaccination. This is a safe way of getting protection because even though our cases are low, the virus is still here.) — RSJ, GMA News