Philippines logs 225 new Omicron subvariant cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines logged 225 additional cases of Omicron subvariants BA.5, BA.4, and BA.2.12.1, the Department of Health said Friday.

Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, DOH officer-in-charge, said 190 new BA.5 cases were found in Davao region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Metro Manila.

Of those, 175 individuals were tagged as recovered, while seven are still undergoing isolation.

There are currently 4,203 detected BA.5 cases in the country.

Thirty-four more people from Soccsksargen and Davao region tested positive for the Omicron BA.4 subvariant, raising the total to 149.

Health authorities also detected one additional BA.2.12.1 case from Davao region. The detection raised the country’s total BA.12.1 cases to 182.

“Nationally, nananatili tayo sa low risk case classification kahit na merong bahagyang pagtaas sa ICU admission, and severe and critical cases,” Vergeire said.

(Nationally, we remain at low risk case classification [for COVID-19] despite the slight increase in ICU admissions, and severe and critical cases.)

The Philippines logged 27,331 additional COVID-19 cases— or an average of 3,904 a day—from August 1 to 7. This translated to a 13% increase from a week before. — Gaea Katreena Cabico