The agency also confirmed that the Omicron variant has now spread throughout the country.
During the Laging Handa pubic briefing, Dr. Cynthia Saloma, executive director of the PGC, said that majority of the samples submitted for January of this year are of the Omicron variant already compared to the Delta variant.
Dr. Saloma said that among the samples of Omicron cases, the sub-lineage BA.2 is the most prevalent, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Calabarzon.
Currently, 336 from the first 517 samples contain the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron. Dr. Saloma said that out of the 336 samples with the BA.2 lineage, 248 came from the NCR and Calabarzon.
Meanwhile, Omicron’s sub-lineage BA.1 was recorded in 180 samples, and only one contains the original Omicron.
Although global data states that the BA.1 is the most prevalent, when it comes to community transmission here in the Philippines, BA.2 is more widespread and many are still undetected.
When it comes to Omicron symptoms, 30 percent of the first 517 cases are milder and asymptomatic and with upper respiratory tract infections.
But this doesn’t mean Omicron is not dangerous. In fact, the DOH already recorded five fatalities with the Omicron variant.
However, Dr. Saloma said they still cannot say if the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta variant since both have the same symptoms.
Further studies need to be done, she said, while enforcing strict compliance with minimum public health standards.