Omicron BA.2.12 patient had 44 close contacts – DOH

The number of close contacts of the Finnish woman who was the country’s first Omicron BA.2.12 carrier has risen to 44, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Vergeire said in a message to reporters that nine of them were in Quezon City, five in Benguet, and 30 were on the plane she took to Manila, according to their current contact tracing.

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On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) stated that a 52-year-old Finnish woman who arrived from Finland on April 2 was the first person in the Philippines to be diagnosed with Omicron BA.2.12 in Baguio City.

According to the Department of Health, the anonymous foreigner was not obliged to undergo normal isolation at a quarantine facility because she was vaccinated against COVID-19 and arrived asymptomatic (DOH).

According to the Department of Health, 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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The BA.2.12 sublineage was “2.5 times more infective but not more severe” than the original Omicron variation, according to Vergeire.

Omicron BA.2.12 patient had 44 close contacts – DOH

According to the DOH, BA.2.12 is neither a variant of interest nor a variant of concern.

“The public can avoid all variants, whether new or currently circulating, by continuing to wear the best-fitting mask, isolate when sick, double-up protection through vaccination and boosters, and ensure good airflow,” it said.

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It’s only a matter of time before more sublineages of the highly transmissible Omicron form reach the country, potentially causing a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Any variety that enters the country, according to Vergeire, will cause concern for the authorities, as there has been an increase in COVID-19 instances in other countries, such as South Africa.

“In any place in the world right now, the specific sublineages of the Omicron variant is spreading and it is causing spike in cases. He’s saying that in any time, it’s a matter as to when it’s going to enter the country and might cause a spike in cases in the country, so we should all be prepared,” she said.

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