MANILA — The Department of Health on Wednesday reported that 32 more cases of the Omicron BA.5 subvariant have been detected in the country, which is more transmissible than other variants.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that local authorities have so far detected 43 BA.5 cases.
The following information pertains to the additional Omicron BA.5 subvariant cases:
1. Twenty-one individuals from Western Visayas, four from Calabarzon, four from Metro Manila, and three from Central Luzon were found to have the fast-spreading variant.
2. Of the cases detected in Western Visayas, nine were from a workplace cluster and three were from a household cluster.
3. Thirty of the BA.5 cases are fully vaccinated, while one is partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining case is still being verified.
4. DOH said that the exposures of individuals positive for the new subvariant are still unknown and their travel histories are being verified.
5. Twenty-two of the cases had mild symptoms, while five had no symptoms.
6. Sixteen people have been tagged as recovered, while 14 are still undergoing isolation. The outcomes of the rest are still being verified.
The World Health Organization added BA.4 and BA.5 to its list for monitoring in April.
COVID-19 cases in the country are increasing, which authorities attribute to the presence of more transmissible variants, increased mobility, and waning vaccine immunity.
According to Vergeire, the entire country remains at low risk for COVID-19 transmission despite the rise in cases.
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