The Philippines has reported its first cases of Omicron variant, the Department of Health said on Wednesday.
DOH said one of the cases is a returning overseas Filipino who arrived from Japan on December 1 via Philippine Airlines flight number PR 0427.
The other one is a Nigerian national who arrived from Nigeria on November 30 via Oman Air with flight number WY 843.
The DOH said that the two are currently under quarantine at a facility under the Bureau of Quarantine.
Earlier, the World Health Organization said that Omicron was spreading unprecedentedly. However, the new variant was likely already present in most countries worldwide.
Since its detection in southern Africa last month, Omicron has been reported in 77 nations, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
But, he noted, “the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet.”
“Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant,” he said.
Tedros also cautioned against “dismissing Omicron as mild.”
“Surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril,” he said.
Omicron variant enters Philippines
“Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.”
Top US scientist Anthony Fauci also revealed that the effect of Omicron might also be just weak compared to different variants.
“It almost certainly is not more severe than Delta,” said Fauci. “There is some suggestion that it might even be less severe.”
However, the official cautioned not to “over-interpret” the data because the number followed were young people who were less likely to be hospitalized.
The Philippines will remain under Alert Level 2 until the end of the year due to the threat of the Omicron variant.
The University of the Philippines COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team previously proposed that after the holiday season, only implement Alert Level 1.
According to scientist Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, a fellow of the OCTA Research Group, preliminary data shows that although the omicron variant is more contagious, it may not cause more severe disease than the delta variant.
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