The Philippines has detected its fourth case of the more contagious omicron variant, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday, amid fears that COVID-19 cases in the country will rise again.
According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the variant was seen in a 38-year-old woman who arrived in the Philippines from America on December 10.
She underwent quarantine upon arrival but had a sore throat and a cold after three days.
She was tested on December 14, and the next day, she tested positive for the disease so she was immediately transferred to an isolation facility.
On December 24, the patient’s 10-day isolation, which was then asymptomatic, ended.
The patient was home quarantined and scheduled to undergo re-swabbing on Tuesday.
The new variant of concern omicron was first detected in South Africa, which is 10 times more contagious than the original variant of COVID-19.
The new variant case was detected amid fears that COVID-19 would spike again due to the perceived increase in positivity and reproduction rate.
On Sunday, the OCTA Research Group said the reproduction rate of COVID-19 has increased, specifically in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Philippines detects 4th omicron case
The reproduction rate in NCR was 0.70 on December 22, up from 0.42 on December 15.
Such a rate is the average number of people who can be infected with a positive case of the disease.
The DOH also reported on Sunday that the positivity rate or the number of those who tested positive for COVID-19 rose to 2 percent.
It is still within the World Health Organization’s benchmark of 5 percent to say that the COVID-19 situation is still under control.
Vergeire also said Monday that the average COVID-19 cases in NCR increased by 49 percent from December 20 to 26 compared to the week that followed.
But for now, the Philippines is still “minimal risk” in COVID-19, said Vergeire.
According to the University of the Philippines (UP) Pandemic Response Team, it is not yet sure whether there will be a surge or whether the increase in COVID-19 cases in the country will continue.
According to Jomar Rabajante of the UP Pandemic Response Team, it will take another 1 or 2 weeks to conclude.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.