The Department of Health (DOH) has observed a continuous decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in all island groups of the country, but reiterated its call to the public to avoid complacency amid the threat of the newly reported Omicron XE variant.
According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the country’s positivity rate decreased to 1.8% from 2.1% in the past week, and there were 600 new cases recorded including the backlog from last week’s report.
The DOH said they have not yet seen a significant increase in cases despite the ongoing conduct of campaign rallies. However, the record trend might change if the public does not comply with minimum public health standards and if there are new variants that may enter the country.
The DOH said it has been coordinating with the World Health Organization regarding the new coronavirus variant, Omicron XE, which was first detected in the United Kingdom and Bangkok, Thailand.
Omicron XE is a combination of BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants, and is more infectious than BA.2 which is dominant in the Philippines. Due to the threat of Omicron XE, the DOH urged the public to get their booster shots to prevent another mutation.
To date, there are 12 million individuals who already got their booster shots out of the 46 million topal individuals who are eligible to receive it. – Report from Mark Fetalco/KC-ag
