1,015 more Omicron BA.5 cases detected in the Philippines, says DOH

The Philippines has detected over 1,000 additional cases of the Omicron subvariant BA.5 in almost all regions, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

At a press briefing, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that based on the latest genome sequencing results covering July 30 to August 1, a total of 1,015 BA.5 cases were seen in all regions except Zamboanga Peninsula and Northern Mindanao.

The number brings the total number of BA.5 cases in the country to 3,012.

About 304 of the latest BA.5 infections were found in Western Visayas, 209 from the National Capital Region (NCR), 122 from Calabarzon, 90 from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 70 from Davao Region, 69 from Cagayan Valley, 50 from Central Luzon, 38 from Ilocos Region, 29 from Mimaropa, 18 from Bicol Region, six from Central Visayas, five from Soccsksargen, and one each from Eastern Visayas and Caraga.

Of the new cases, 883 individuals are now tagged as recovered, 84 are still undergoing isolation, and the status of the rest are still being verified.

At least 527 individuals of the fresh BA.5 cases are also fully vaccinated, 12 are partially vaccinated, 16 are unvaccinated, while the vaccination status of others are still being determined.

Their exposure to the virus, travel histories, and health status are also unverified, Vergeire said. 

BA.2.75

Aside from this, DOH said the country has also detected its first cases of the Omicron subvariant BA 2.75 dubbed as “Centaurus” from two individuals in Western Visayas.

Both of them are now tagged as recovered, according to Vergeire.

She noted that the BA 2.75 may be more transmissible and has more immune evasion compared to the BA.5. However, there are no studies yet that show that the BA.2.75 may cause severe diseases, she added.

BA.4

Twenty-six more BA.4 Omicron sub-variant cases were also recorded in the country recently.

Vergeire said six of them came from NCR, four from Cagayan Valley, three from Western Visayas, two each from Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Calabarzon, and CAR, and one from Ilocos Region.

These new cases brought the total BA.4 caseload in the country to 97.

As of the moment, 21 of these individuals are now tagged as recovered, two are still under isolation, while the outcome of the three others are still being identified.

At least 17 of them were also fully vaccinated, two were not vaccinated, while the vaccination status of others are still being verified.

Their exposure, travel histories, and health status are also unknown.

BA.2.12.1

There were 18 additional BA.2.12.1 cases also detected in the country, Vergeire said.

Of these, five were from NCR, three each from Ilocos Region and CAR, two each from Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Calabarzon, and one from Cagayan Valley.

A total of 172 BA.2.12.1 are now found in the country, according to Vergeire.

Thirteen of them are now considered as recovered, four are still under isolation, while the status of the other one is still being verified.

At least 11 of them are also fully vaccinated, two are unvaccinated, while the vaccination status of the five others are still being identified.

Their exposure, travel histories, and health status are also unknown.

The Philippines also recorded a total of 24,100 new COVID-19 cases from July 25 to July 31, 2022, which is 24% higher than the cases reported from the previous week.  —KBK/RSJ, GMA News