PH detects 4th Omicron case

MANILA – A health official on Monday reported that a fourth case of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) coronavirus variant has been detected in the country.

In an online media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the case is a 38-year-old traveler from the United States.

She arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on December 10 via Philippine Airlines flight PR 127 and was quarantined upon arrival.

“On December 13, she had throat itchiness and colds and her specimen was collected on December 14. When results turned positive on December 15, she was then placed in an isolation facility,” Vergeire said.

On December 24, the case was discharged after 10 days in isolation and having no symptoms.

Vergeire added the case remains asymptomatic and is currently under home isolation. She is scheduled for a repeat test on Tuesday.

The Department of Health (DOH) reported the third case of Omicron variant — a 36-year-old returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from Qatar — on December 20.

Meantime, the first two cases of the Omicron variant were detected by the DOH on December 15.

One of the cases is an ROF who arrived from Japan and the other is a Nigerian who came from Oman.

48 more Delta variant cases

Meanwhile, an additional 38 cases of the coronavirus Delta variant have also been recorded nationwide.

Vergeire said the new Delta variant cases were from a total of 46 samples collected and sequenced on December 24.

“Of the 19,922 total samples sequenced assigned with lineage as of December 24, 42.43 percent were positive for the Delta variant, 18.22 percent were positive with the Beta variant, 15.91 percent were positive with Alpha variant, 0.02 percent were positive with the Omicron variant and 0.02 percent or three samples were positive for the Gamma variant,” she said.

The new cases pushed the total Delta variant cases to 8,452, Alpha variant cases to 3,169, Beta variant cases to 3,630, Omicron variant cases to four, and Gamma variant cases to three.

Vergeire noted that all regions and all cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region (NCR) either have Alpha or Beta variants detected.

The Delta variant, initially detected from returning overseas Filipinos, is now detected in all 17 regions and all NCR cities and its lone municipality.

Meantime, the P.3 (Theta) variant, which was initially observed in only one region, is now detected in all regions with 527 cases so far.