The authorities in the Philippines have ruled out the presence of the Omicron variant and asked people not to panic.
The Department of Health (DOH) said although the threat posed by the new COVID-19 variant was real the public need not to panic and must remain vigilant against the virus by strictly observing proper health and safety protocols.
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According to the DOH, there is still no indication that the highly transmissible Omicron variant is now present in the country.
The COVID-19 positive cases involving 242 international travelers who arrived in the country in November are still “subject to further testing” for the Omicron variant.
The genome sequencing results on the samples from three travelers from South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Egypt who earlier tested positive for COVID-19 upon their arrival in the Philippines have not been released.
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Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Omicron variant had not reached the Philippines yet.
Vergeire said one of the indications of the possible presence of this variant would be a spike in cases and there has been no area in the country that showed a sudden increase or clustering of infections. (AW)
