MANILA, Philippines (Updated 2:11 p.m.) — The Philippines reported Wednesday its first two cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which has been classified as being “of concern” by the World Health Organization.
The Department of Health said two imported cases of the Omicron variant were detected from the 48 samples sequenced Tuesday.
One of the cases is a returning overseas Filipino who arrived from Japan on December 1 via Philippine Airlines PR 0427. The DOH said the individual is currently asymptomatic but had colds and cough upon arrival.
The other case is a Nigerian national who arrived from Nigeria on November 30 via Oman Air WY 843. He is also asymptomatic.
Both are isolated in a facility managed by the Bureau of Quarantine.
The DOH said it is verifying the test results and the health status of passengers who were on the same flight as the travelers found to have the Omicron variant.
Those who arrived in the country through the aforementioned flights are advised to call the DOH COVID-19 Hotlines at (02) 8942 6843 or 1555, or their respective LGUs to report their status.
The detection of Omicron comes as authorities announced the entire country will remain under Alert Level 2 until December 31.
Early studies suggest that Omicron, the heavily-mutated variant first detected by South Africa, can be resistant to vaccines and is more transmissible that the Delta variant.
The spread of Omicron globally prompted the government to tighten border controls, postpone the country’s tourism reopening, and accelerate the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
More Delta cases
The department also reported the detection of 33 cases of the Delta variant. This brought the total number of confirmed Delta variant cases to 7,919.
Of the additional cases, 14 were returning overseas Filipinos.
The rest were local cases from Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Caraga, Soccsksargen, Western Visayas, Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas and Davao region. — with report from Agence-France Presse