OCTA warns 5K-10K COVID cases per day

The OCTA Research Group once again warned that the daily number of COVID-19 cases in the country could go up by 5,000 to 10,000 due to the new Omicron variants.

OCTA made the forecast based on the increase in cases in South Africa caused by BA.4 and BA.5 variants in New Delhi in India caused by BA.2.12 and in the United States in turn caused by BA.2.12.1.

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“We might see 5,000 to 10,000 cases per day, but nowhere near the 40,000 cases we saw back in January, but of course, that is still subject to change because we’re still monitoring the trends in India and US,” said OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David.

They reminded Filipinos that the effect might be mild on the vaccinated but not on the unvaccinated population or those with comorbidities.

Aside from the fact that the new variants are more contagious, some of the factors seen to have a new surge are the public’s declining adherence to minimum health standards, immunity from the vaccine, and large-scale gatherings related to the election.

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If the daily number of cases rises to 5,000, there is no need for the government to raise the alert level, David added. Only the population that has not yet received it needs to be vaccinated, and those who already qualify need to be boosted.

OCTA warns 5K-10K COVID cases per day

Meanwhile, Omicron subvariant BA 2.12 entered the Philippines and was discovered in a 52-year-old woman from Finland who visited and lectured at a university in Baguio City.

The Finnish national has completed her seven-day isolation period, healed, and been released. The patient was also said to have returned to her home country on April 21.

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BA 2.12 is a highly-transmittable mutation of the Omicron variant, which has now spread to the United States and South Korea.

According to epidemiology nurse Karen Lonogan of the DOH in the Cordillera, the woman has recovered and has returned to her country.

This is the first BA 2.12 case in the country.

No one was infected with the mutated virus, according to the DOH.

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