Tag: Omicron

Immigration bureau: Filipino and foreign diplomats from countries included in PHL’s “red list” exempted from travel ban

(Eagle News) — Filipino and foreign diplomats from countries included in the Philippines’ “red list” are exempted from the travel ban. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said this exemption was adopted under a resolution issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) last November 25. Morente said this was also reiterated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to different departments and agencies last December 2. According to Morente,  the exemption particularly […]

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France added to PHL’s “red list” amid Omicron threat

(Eagle News) — The Philippines has included France in its “red” list over the Omicron threat. According to Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles, the ban on travelers from that country is effective 12:01 a.m. on December 10 and will end on December 15. Nograles said travelers who have been to France in the last 14 days who will arrive on any of the days from December 10 to 12 will be required to undergo facility-based […]

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Pfizer/BioNTech says three doses ‘effective’ against Omicron

    by Sebastien ASH FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Two doses of the BioNTech and Pfizer coronavirus vaccine may not be enough to protect against the Omicron strain, the companies warned Wednesday, but they stressed it was “still effective” after a third jab. The companies’ news was called reassuring by experts, and came as the first independent data from labs around the world emerged, suggesting that the new variant is better at evading vaccine-trained immunity […]

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‘Highly unlikely’ existing vaccines will fail against Omicron: WHO

  by Nina Larson Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Omicron does not appear to cause more severe disease than previous Covid variants, and is “highly unlikely” to fully dodge vaccine protections, a top WHO official told AFP Tuesday. Speaking to AFP, the World Health Organization’s second-in-command, said that while a lot remained to be learned about the new, heavily mutated variant of Covid-19, preliminary data indicated it did not make people sicker than […]

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Top WHO, US scientists say Omicron no worse than other virus variants

by Nina Larson, with Issam Ahmed in Washington GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains, top scientists from the WHO and the United States told AFP, while cautioning that more research is needed to judge its severity. The hopeful assessments came as global concern grew over the heavily mutated variant, which has forced dozens of nations to re-impose border restrictions and raised the possibility of a […]

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Filipinos in S. Africa urged to remain calm amid “challenging, uncertain times” due to COVID-19

(Eagle News) — The Philippine Embassy in Pretoria urged Filipinos in South Africa to remain calm amid the “challenging and uncertain times” brought about by COVID-19, including the Omicron threat. It urged them to “closely coordinate” with their agencies and employers on the rescheduling of their flights, following the travel ban imposed on travelers from South Africa by the Philippine government. It also urged them to seek assistance from their sponsors on the extension of […]

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‘Encouraging’ early feedback on Omicron case severity: Fauci

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Early indications of the severity of the Omicron Covid-19 variant are “a bit encouraging,” top US pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday, while cautioning more information was still needed. “Omicron has a transmission advantage” in South Africa, where the variant was first reported, Fauci said in a CNN interview, noting the country had a low level of cases before it saw “almost a vertical spike upwards, which is almost […]

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PHL drop in COVID cases shows “substantial population immunity” already achieved, scientist tells Pres. Duterte

Lowest case numbers of around 500 a day being recorded in PHL with lowest hospitalization numbers, even as more Filipinos are moving around   (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte expressed satisfaction that the country’s is experiencing the lowest number of COVID-19 cases, averaging about 500 in the last few days, as experts noted that the Philippines has already achieved “substantial population immunity. “I have always invoked the intervention of God to pull us out […]

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DOH: 8 travelers from S. Africa who have yet to be located unresponsive, gave wrong details in info sheets

(Eagle News) — The eight travelers from South Africa who have yet to be located were unresponsive or provided wrong or incomplete details on their personal information sheets. In an interview, Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said of the eight, four listed down their agencies’ contact numbers. However, the numbers cannot be reached. Meanwhile, one gave a mobile number but was lacking one figure. One gave an incomplete address, while two others were not responding […]

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DOH: 8 travelers from S. Africa yet to be located

(Eagle News) — Eight travelers who arrived from South Africa—which first announced the detection of the Omicron variant–have yet to be located. According to Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire, the eight were among  the 253 individuals who arrived in the country before the Philippines imposed restrictions on travelers from South Africa and other adjacent countries amid the Omicron variant threat. She said 80 have so far been located. Of these, she said 71 ROFs and  […]

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PHL logs 571 more Delta variant cases

(Eagle News) — The Philippines has logged an additional 571 Delta variant cases, pushing the total cases for such a variant to 7,848. According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, apart from the additional Delta variant cases, one additional Beta variant and one additional Alpha variant were logged from the sequenced 629 samples. With the additional Beta and Alpha variant cases, the total Beta variant cases are now at 3,630 while the total Alpha variant […]

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Mexico reports first Omicron case

  MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico on Friday announced its first case of the coronavirus Omicron variant, in a traveller from South Africa, but the government said it was not considering border closures as a counter-measure. The variant was detected in a 51-year-old from South Africa with mild symptoms, undersecretary of health Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez said on Twitter. An epidemiologist by training, Lopez-Gatell Ramirez said closing borders and blocking the movement of people and […]

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