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Omicron now 'predominant' variant in NCR — DOH

Philippines | National

Omicron now 'predominant' variant in NCR — DOH

By Joseph Pedrajas

The Department of Health (DOH) declared Tuesday, Jan. 18, that the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 is now the "predominant" variant in the National Capital Region (NCR).

DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea de Guzman said during a House committee on health hearing that 15 of NCR's 16 cities and one municipality have already recorded cases of the Omicron variant.

"That is based on the latest genome sequencing," de Guzman said, although she did not specify which localities they are.

The health official said there is an increase in new COVID-19 cases in all the provinces and regions in the country. NCR's current number of cases is actually bigger than when it reached its peak in September amid the Delta variant.

The DOH attributed the increase to the rise of the highly-infectious Omicron variant as well as to the increased mobility, reduced compliance with the minimum health standards and delays in detection and isolation.

Nevertheless, DOH said, the percentage of severe and critical cases as well as fatalities have been declining while deaths in NCR are lower than before due to high vaccination rate.

Related Tags

NCR PREDOMINANT variant HOUSE HEARING Omicron doh

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