MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has detected 79 additional cases of fast-spreading Omicron BA.5, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4 subvariants, the Department of Health said Tuesday.
Of the total, 60 were BA.5 cases, 17 were BA.2.12.1 cases, and two were BA.4 cases, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.
Fifty-eight individuals from Western Visayas, one from Davao region, and one from Soccsksargen were found to have BA.5. Of those, 43 are tagged are recovered, while 14 are still undergoing isolation.
Currently, there are 293 detected BA.5 cases in the country.
Of the additional BA.2.12.1 cases, six were from Western Visayas, 10 were from Davao region, and one was returning overseas Filipino. Fifteen individuals have recovered from COVID-19, while two are still undergoing isolation.
Authorities have so far detected 87 cases of the Omicron BA.2.12.1 subvariant.
The DOH also reported that one individual from Davao region and one from Soccsksargen tested positive for the Omicron BA.4 subvariant. Both cases presented mild symptoms and are now tagged as recovered.
Twelve BA.4 cases have been so far found in the Philippines.
The health department said the country’s healthcare utilization rate remained low despite the continued increase in cases partly caused by the presence of more infectious COVID-19 variants.
The country confirmed 10,271 additional coronavirus infections, or an average of 1,467 cases per day, in the past week. — Gaea Katreena Cabico