DOH confirms 2 Omicron cases among international travelers
MANILA (December 15)—The Department of Health (DOH), the University of the Philippines - Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the Philippines - National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) report that two imported cases of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of concern were detected from the 48 samples sequenced yesterday, December 14, 2021.
Aside from these two Omicron cases, there were 33 positive for the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant while 13 had no lineage assigned. The latest sequencing run was composed of samples from 21 Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs), one foreign national, and 26 local cases from areas with case clusters.
OMICRON VARIANT CASES:
The two Omicron variant cases are incoming travelers and are currently isolated in a facility managed by the Bureau...