Philippines detects 128 new Omicron subvariant cases

The Philippines detected 128 new Omicron subvariant cases, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

After the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) sequenced 137 samples last January 3 to 9, 52 samples were classified as Omicron BA.2.3.20, 28 were XBB, 13 were XBC, 10 were BA.5, and one sample was BN.1.

The DOH said the other 24 cases detected were considered “other Omicron subvariants.”

Of the 52 additional BA.2.3.20 cases, 51 were local cases from Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5, 6, 7, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and National Capital Region (NCR); while the remaining case was a returning overseas Filipino (ROF).

The DOH said the recently detected BN.1 case, reported under BA.2.75, was a local case from Region 6.

Meanwhile, of the 10 new BA.5 cases, six were local cases from Region 6 and 11, while the remaining four cases were ROFs.

The DOH said all additional XBB and XBC cases were local cases from Regions 1, 3, 4A, 6, 7, 11, CAR, and NCR.

The one local case of the Delta variant was from Region 3, with the collection date in mid-December 2022.

The DOH, however, said it was continuously monitoring, both at local and global levels, the prevalent Omicron subvariants with higher transmissibility.

DOH-Epidemiology Bureau Director IV Dr. Alethea De Guzman said Omicron and its subvariants had become the global prevalent sequence.

The Health Department was monitoring two Omicron subvariants, BQ.1. and BA.2.75, based on the sequence submission, according to De Guzman.

De Guzman also echoed the World Health Organization's (WHO's) hope that COVID-19 would no longer be a public health emergency in 2023. — DVM, GMA Integrated News