Over 12.2 million Filipinos have received booster shots as of April 5 (Eagle News) – The Department of Health (DOH) urged the public to get booster shots against Covid-19 amid the threat of another Covid-19 variant, Omicron XE, that has been detected in Thailand. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that getting boosted against Covid would greatly help prevent from contracting the disease, even the new variant Omicrom XE. “Bagama’t naririnig po natin ang […]
Tag: variant
DOH finds 618 more Omicron cases; 497 are local cases mostly “stealth Omicron”
Omicron cases detected nationwide; DOH probing how Omicron sublineage BA.2 became predominant in PHL (Eagle News) – More Omicron variant cases have been detected in the Philippines at 618, which includes both the original Omicron lineage B.1.1.529, and its sub-lineages, BA.1 and BA.2 or the so-called “stealth Omicron.” The Department of Health (DOH) announced this on Thursday in the latest genome sequencing of the University of the Philippines – Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the […]
DOH reports three more Omicron deaths, bringing total fatalities due to this variant to five
(Eagle News) – The Department of Health reported three more Omicron deaths, bringing the total deaths due to this highly infectious variant to five. Health Undersecretary and Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the three new Covid fatalities related to the Omicron variant were senior citizens with comorbidities. In a message to reporters, the DOH official said that of the five fatalities, one was unvaccinated, another one was partially vaccinated, while the vaccination status […]
Omicron ‘sub-variant’ throws up new virus questions
Latest Omicron subvariant dubbed BA.2 detected in Britain, 40 other countries including India, Denmark and Sweden by Isabelle TOURNÉ Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the Covid-19 virus to determine how its emergence could effect future pandemic spread. The initial Omicron variant has become the dominant virus strain in recent months but British health authorities have notably identified […]
PHL detects 492 more Omicron cases, including 2 deaths; new Omicron cases detected nationwide
New Omicron cases detected in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; more local and ROF cases recorded (Eagle News) – The Philippines’ total Omicron variant cases reached 535 after the addition of 492 new Omicron cases with addresses spread country-wide, from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, based on the latest genome sequencing of the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center. The latest data also showed an increased number of new local cases, at 332, as well as […]
Severe and critical COVID-19 cases on the plateau while percentage of rise in cases decreasing – DOH chief
Says trend of rising cases characteristic of Omicron variant; PHL still in critical risk (Eagle News) – Severe and critical cases are on a plateau while mild cases are increasing as the Department of Health noted an epidemic curve that is characteristic of the Omicron variant. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also noted a decrease in the percentage of the rise in cases in the last few weeks, and hopefully would plateau soon, he […]
Contact tracing in NCR not a “priority intervention” due to very high COVID transmission, infection rate – DOH
(Eagle News) – Because of “very high transmission rate and high infection rate” of COVID-19 in the National Capital Region, the Department of Health said that contact tracing is a challenge and is not prioritized anymore. Health Undersecretary and Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said that “contact tracing is not a priority intervention anymore” because of rising infection rates in Metro Manila. The DOH official said that the shift in strategy from less tracing to more […]
Omicron community transmission in NCR, Omicron could soon be dominant variant in PHL – says DOH’s Vergeire
Omicron characteristics noted in Metro Manila, other regions with high cases (Eagle News) – The Department of Health said that the steep rise in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and in other regions recently is “characteristic” of the Omicron variant. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that in the country’s capital, the National Capital Region, there is already a confirmed local transmission of the Omicron variant although the genome sequencing results from the latest […]
Entire PHL now at “critical risk” as Omicron declared “dominant variant”; 3,663% growth in COVID cases noted
But those infected with Omicron variant exhibiting “less severe” symptoms, faster incubation period, says DOH (Eagle News) – The entire country is now considered under “critical risk” as the Omicron variant is declared as the dominant COVID-19 variant in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health. In fact, the highly infectious Omicron variant has overtaken the Delta variant as of the latest genome sequencing data, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III noting that […]
Metro Manila to be placed under Alert Level 4 if health care utilization reaches high-risk level, says IATF adviser
Dr. Herbosa says Alert Level 4 “possible” to be raised in NCR in the next few days with increasing hospital admissions and rising number of health workers getting infected (Eagle News) – Metro Manila and other areas under Alert Level 3 could be elevated to Alert Level 4 if the health care utilization in hospitals and health care systems reaches high-risk level, health experts said. Dr. Ted Herbosa, the special adviser of the Inter-Agency Task […]
“Fleeting contact” is all it takes for Omicron to spread, says PHL health expert
But Omicron will only have “mild” effect on fully vaccinated, says Dr. Salvana who notes that PHL can ride the Omicron wave with more vaccinations, booster shots (Eagle News) – A “fleeting contact” is all it takes for the Omicron variant to spread, unlike previous COVID-19 virus variants that takes at least 15 minutes between close contacts to be transmitted. Dr. Edsel Salvana from the Department of Health Technical Advisory group on infectious diseases, explained […]
NCR now at critical risk classification for COVID, entire PHL at high-risk after spike in cases, says DOH chief
1,475 percent two-week growth rate for COVID-19 observed in Metro Manila (Eagle News) – The Philippines is now at a high-risk classification for COVID-19 due to a 448 percent two-week growth rate, with Metro Manila considered at critical risk, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said. During President Rodrigo Duterte’s Talk to the People, Duque noted the spike in COVID-19 cases as local transmission of the Omicron variant has been confirmed and after the increase […]





