The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday reported 618 more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,153.
Of the 618 fresh cases, 497 are local cases and 121 are returning Overseas Filipinos.
The DOH said 238 of the local cases have indicated addresses in the National Capital Region, 71 in Calabarzon, 30 each in Ilocos Region and Western Visayas, 28 in Eastern Visayas, 27 in Central Luzon, 20 in Central Visayas, 19 in Cagayan Valley,
Meanwhile, 13 have addresses in the Cordillera Administrative Region, 10 in Davao Region, six in SOCCSKSARGEN, two each in the Bicol Region and Mimaropa, and one in Northern Mindanao.
The DOH said 13 cases are still active while five individuals have already succumbed to the COVID-19 variant.
Stealth Omicron
According to DOH, the latest run sequenced 677 samples, of these 91.29% was Omicron — of which the majority were found to be the BA.2 or the Stealth Omicron.
The earliest detection of the Stealth Omicron was on December 2021, it said.
On Wednesday, the DOH announced that the Philippines has detected the BA.1 and the BA.2, both of which are sublineages of the Omicron variant, in ROFs and local cases in every region.
“Data gathered by the DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH showed that there is no significant difference in BA.1 and BA.2 characteristics in terms of transmissibility or severity of disease,” it said.
Delta variant
On the other hand, the country also detected 35 additional cases of the Delta variant, bringing the total to 8,647.
“The Department urges the public to complete their primary series of vaccines and boosters, especially those who are most vulnerable to the virus such as the elderly, the young, and the sick,” the DOH said.
“The vaccines provided by the government are proven to be safe and effective in preventing hospitalization, even death caused by severe and critical symptoms,” it added.
