The Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday, May 21 that it has detected its first case of Omicron-BA.4 from a Filipino citizen who flew in from the Middle East last May 4.
The health department said that the patient was asymptomatic and tested positive on May 8, four days after he arrived in the country.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Omicron BA.4 is a variant of concern (VOC) as it “either spread faster or cause worse illness.”
The DOH also said that the BA.4’s “faster transmission is likely because of its ability to evade immune protection.”
The health advisory released aims to caution public as the faster transmission may “lead to a spike in cases that could overwhelm our hospitals and clinics.”
The DOH has already coordinated with the concerned local government unit where the first BA.4 case was detected and urged them to “rapidly implement detection and isolation” of people who may have been exposed to the patient.
BA.4 and BA.5 were first detected in South Africa in January and February 2022.
Four days ago, the DOH confirmed local transmission of Omicron BA.2.12.1 sub-variant in the country.
The DOH has so far detected 17 BA2.12.1 cases, with at least 2 from Metro Manila.
As of May 20, the Philippines now has 3,688,505 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 60,458 deaths, reported to WHO since January 3, 2020. Meanwhile, there have been 903,731 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 2,302 deaths in the United Arab Emirates.
