Philippines detects Omicron variant in two international travelers
The question of whether the country will fully emerge from lockdowns and quarantines was left hanging today as the Department of Health announced that the country has detected its first two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
According to the statement from the Department of Health, one of the individuals is a returning overseas Filipino from Japan who is currently asymptomatic. The second one is a Nigerian national who is also currently asymptomatic.
Both individuals are now isolated in a facility under the control of the Bureau of Quarantine.
The arrival of the Omicron variant comes after heightened efforts from the country's Department of Health to step up vaccination. The country held National Vaccination Days earlier this month, with nearly 10 million people getting the jab, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
The government had also recently announced that fully vaccinated adults can now get booster shots.
In a Facebook post, the Department of Health shared that those who have been administered the full doses of the Sinovac, Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Gamaleya Sputnik vaccines six months ago can get boosters. Those who were administered the Janssen vaccine three months ago can also get boosters.
Last month, fully vaccinated health care workers were also told that they can already get their booster shots .
Check out Kapuso stars who have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine in the gallery below.
