MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has registered 671 infections of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to its latest biosurveillance report on Feb. 27.
Most of the infections or 468 are of the BA.2.3.20 subvariant, 149 of XBB, nine of XBC, eight of BA.5, of four BN.1, and 33 were tagged as other omicron sublineages.
Of the 149 new infections of XBB, three were carrying the XBB.1.5 subvariant, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to nine.
The XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible Omicron subvariant that has been detected so far as it spreads rapidly because of the mutations it contains, allowing it to adhere to cells and replicate easily, according to World Health Organization senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove.
Almost all of the infections were local cases, with only four from international travelers, while 13 are still undergoing verification.
Based on the report, the BA.5 subvariant remains the dominant strain in the country, with a total of 12,729 cases recorded.
The BA.2.3.20 is second, with a total of 5,192 cases.
The XBB subvariant, meanwhile, accounted for 1,590 of the total cases, 725 were XBC, 325 were BA.4, and 55 were BA.2.7.5.
The least dominant strains were the XBB.1.5 at nine, Omicron BF.7 at seven, CH.1.1 at three, and XBF at only one.
As of March 8, the country has 8,943 active COVID-19 infections.