MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday announced 906 new cases of the BA.5 COVID-19 subvariant of Omicron, a more transmissible strain than its counterparts.
According to DOH officer-in-charge Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire at a media forum, all regions had detected the subvariant except Regions 10, 11, 12, Caraga, and the BARMM in the latest genome sequencing run.
“We are still getting their reports regarding the exposure and travel history,” said Vergeire.
These new cases brought the total recorded BA.5 cases in the country to 4,013.
Of the additional cases, Vergeire said the majority, or 682 were already tagged as recoveries while 59 are still undergoing isolation, and the rest are still being verified.
Meanwhile, 11 additional cases of the BA.4 omicron subvariant were also detected by DOH, bringing the total BA.4 cases to 115, the Health OIC said.
Vergeire said all 11 have already been tagged as recoveries.
Another seven cases of the BA.2.12.1 omicron subvariant were also recorded by the agency, said Vergeire, of which all have already recovered.
This brought the total recorded BA.2.12.1 cases to 181.
Meanwhile, no new cases of the Centaurus variant, or the BA.2.75 were reported by the DOH.
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