 |
| People with large baggages start arriving at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) in Parañaque City before dawn on Dec. 23, 2021 to catch their buses as they head to their respective provinces early to avoid the influx of passengers for the Christmas weekend. (Photo by Miguel de Guzman/ The Star) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA: The Philippine government is “well-prepared” to combat the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which is threatening health systems overseas, the Department of Health said Tuesday. The Philippines has so far detected four cases of the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant—all among international arrivals, PH Inquirer reported.
“Right now with this Omicron variant, I think we are well-prepared than before,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview with CNN Philippines. “What will be the most critical factor right now would be a lot of our citizens are vaccinated now compared to when we’re having the Delta variant…Right now were are preparing. Hopefully, we are able to manage this increase in the number of cases if ever Omicron enters our communities,” she added. Early studies suggest the Omicron variant is more infectious than the already transmissible Delta variant, which caused a devastating surge in the Philippines from August to September.
The country is seeing an increase in new COVID-19 cases amid the holiday season. Vergeire also reported that the husband of the country’s fourth Omicron variant case tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently in isolation. “We have already collected the sample from the husband and we’re going to subject it to genome sequencing as well,” she said.
