Philippines records 12 EG.5 cases

There are now 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Omicron subvariant EG.5 in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

This was indicated in the DOH bio-surveillance report from July 26 to August 1, according to a report on "Balitanghali" on Thursday.

A Reuters report said the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized the Omicron sub-variant as a "variant of interest.''

Cases of the fast-spreading variant have been reported in the US, China, South Korea, Japan, and Canada, but the WHO said it did not seem to pose more of a threat to public health than other variants.

A total of 132 new coronavirus infections were recorded in the Philippines on Wednesday, pushing the nationwide caseload to 4,147,101.

The country’s active cases dropped to 3,399, while the death toll stood at 66,643. —Sundy Locus/ VBL, GMA Integrated News