DOH Gives Update on PH Status Now amid COVID-19 Cases Surge
DOH – The Department of Health spoke on the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the Philippines now amid a new surge.
The Philippines is facing another surge in the COVID-19 cases following the holiday season. The authorities expected the rise in the daily recorded cases of coronavirus as many people went out of their homes for the holiday preparations.
Due to the increase in the daily recorded COVID-19 cases in several cities in Metro Manila, the authorities decided to place the capital region under Alert Level 3 which comes with stricter restrictions. The mayors also came to a common decision of temporarily implementing limitations on the mobility of the unvaxxed residents.
The rise in the COVID-19 cases in the Philippines came along with the threat of the Omicron variant. The said version of the virus which is currently the variant of concern was first recorded in South Africa in the latter part of 2021.
The Omicron was reported to be a “heavily mutated” version of the virus. Several countries including the Philippines have logged cases of the said variant of COVID-19. The first cases in PH are travelers from other countries.
The Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila is also in the pursuit to fight the spread of the Omicron variant. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the Department of Health (DOH) said that the Omicron is now the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the Philippines and not anymore the Delta variant.
According to DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III, in the latest whole-genome sequencing which was conducted last January 3, 2022, out of the 48 samples, 29 of them were found to be Omicron variant. The other 18 samples are Delta variant which was the previous variant of concern before the Omicron.
Reportedly, PH is at a critical risk classification for COVID-19. Aside from the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 3 and 4A are also at a critical risk. Regions 1, 2, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 11, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) are high risk.
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