The Department of Health said on Saturday it was too early yet to declare a local transmission of the COVID-19 omicron BA.2.12.1 subvariant in the country.
The DOH issued this observation even as it reported on Friday that 14 cases if the omicron BA.2.12.1 were detected, two of them in Metro Manila and 12 in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.
“Kailangan po natin ng enough evidence para po maipakita natin at ma-analyze natin kung talagang meron na tayong local transmission,” DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a public briefing.
The two cases detected in the National Capital Region had no recent travel history outside the country, the DOH said.
“These two cases are related, sila po ay walang history of travel, kaya po atin inaalam po talaga ngayon kung ano po talaga ang pinagmulan,” Vergeire said. “Although they had this travel kung saan doon po sila nagpabakuna doon sa kanilang probinsya, tapos bumalik po sila dito sa NCR.”
The DOH gave assurance, however, that all the omicron BA.2.12.1 cases have been isolated, all the way back to the first patient who showed symptoms on April 22 in Palawan.
Vergeire also said that there was no surge in infectious detected in the areas where the patients were first discovered, with the country registering an average of 146 new COVID-19 infections between May 6 to May 12.
The figure is substantially low compared to the daily average rate of 254 new cases in December last year.
The DOH spokesperson advised the public that the best protection against the more contagious omicron subvariant was adherence to public health protocols, such as wearing face masks and following social distancing rules.
She also called on the people to get their booster shots against COVID-19, adding that those who were vaccinated against the virus showed only mild symptoms even when they were infected with omicron BA.2.12.1.
“Ayaw natin i-alarma ang mga tao. Ang gusto natin patuloy tayo mag-ingat,” Vergeire said. “We are all aware that there is this variant circulating in the country dahil alam po natin na mas nakakapanghawa at saka nae-escape niya yung immunity.”
Vergeire also said the DOH was targeting 77 million or 85 percent of the Filipino populace to be administered with the COVID-19 vaccines by June 30, 2022 when President Duterte ends his term.
“Currently that is our working target. We already were able to vaccinate 68.5 million Filipinos. We expect only a little number, we hope to reach them by the end of June,” she added.
Vergeire also reported that 7,407 individuals got their COVID-19 jabs in vaccination sites near polling precincts last May 9, Election Day.
“This is something small compared to our daily accomplishments, but it is better because we saw that our countrymen are interested and willing to get vaccinated even after the election in the heat of the sun,” she noted.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was holding special vaccination days due to its low vaccination turnout.
The DOH is also assisting Quezon in Region 4-A, as well as Regions 4-B, 5, 7, and 12 to increase the level of vaccination in the said areas.