NOT less than 70 additional cases of the highly transmissible Omicron subvariants BA.4, BA.5, and BA2.12.1 were discovered in the country, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Included are the 43 cases of BA.5. wherein 42 were local and one is a returning overseas Filipino (ROF).
Five of the cases are from Region 1, seven from Region 4-A, one each from Regions 4-B, 5, 7, 8, 10 and Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), two from Region 6, and 21 came from the National Capital Region.
As for the BA.4 cases, there were seven of them and all were local. Six cases came from Region 5 and one is from the NCR. Out of the 20 cases of BA.2.12.1, 16 are local and four are were ROF.
Four cases each came from Regions 4-A and 6, one from Region 1, two are from CAR, and five came from the NCR.
The DOH said there are now an overall 190 cases of the Omicron variant of concern from the latest whole genome sequencing run that was conducted from June 29 to July 4, 2022.
An overall 120 cases were also recorded for all the other sublineages of Omicron, while 21 came from samples with still undetermined lineage.
Out of the 190 cases of Omicron, 185 were local and five were ROF. Based on latest data, there are now 7,919 confirmed cases of Omicron in the country.
However, there were no reports of fatalities among the Omicron subvariant cases according to DOH spokesperson and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
“Total hospital bed utilization nationwide still remains at low risk, and there were no deaths among the cases testing positive for the Omicron sub-variants. Nevertheless, maintaining minimum public health standards and being up-to-date on vaccination should still be practiced by every Filipino to reduce transmission,” Vergeire added.
It was in May when the DOH reported the first case of the BA.4 Omicron subvariant in the country.