DOH: Omicron sub-variant not yet seen in Philippines

Philstar.com January 24, 2022 | 4:34pm DOH: Omicron sub-variant not yet seen in Philippines Railway personnel check coronavirus vaccination cards of passengers boarding a train at a station in Quezon City, suburban Manila on January 18, 2022, as the Philippine government banned unvaccinated people from using public transport amid a record surge in coronavirus cases. AFP / Maria Tan MANILA, Philippines — Health authorities in the Philippines have yet to detect a sub-lineage of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which has been seen in other countries, the Department of Health said Monday. “Until now, we have not yet detected any BA.2 sub-variant here in the country,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview with CNN Philippines. According to Vergeire, the World Health Organization and other experts are still studying the latest version of Omicron, dubbed as BA.2. “Based on initial findings and based on observing patients who have this kind of sub-variant, there is not much difference with Omicron as to the severity of illness,” she said, adding the WHO has yet to determine if the sub-lineage is a variant of interest or concern. The sub-variant of the hyper-contagious Omicron has been detected in 40 countries, accounting for a majority of most recent cases in some nations including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and India. The UK Health Security Agency designated the BA.2 sub-lineage as a variant under investigation as cases of it were rising. The authority underlined that “there is still uncertainty around the significance of the changes to the viral genome.” — Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Agence France-Presse

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more