The Department of Health (DOH) reported the country's first cases of Covid-19 omicron subvariants XBB.1.5 and CH.1.1.
Three cases of CH.1.1 and one case of XBB.1.5 were found, based on the latest result of genome sequencing conducted by the Philippine Genome Center from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.
The XBB.1.5 is currently classified by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) as a "variant of interest due to its increasing prevalence globally and enhanced immune evading properties," the DOH said.
It has been detected in 59 countries. Citing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this subvariant "now accounts for 66.4 percent of cases in the US, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, 2023," the DOH said.
"According to the rapid risk assessment done by the World Health Organization (WHO), there is moderate-strength evidence for increased risk of transmission and immune escape," the DOH said.
"However, currently available evidence for XBB.1.5 does not suggest any differences in disease severity and/or clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant," it added.
On the other hand, the CH.1.1 has been classified by the ECDC as "a variant under monitoring, due to its increasing prevalence and potential for immune escape," the DOH said.
This subvariant has already been detected in 71 countries, the DOH said.
"Currently available evidence for the subvariant does not suggest any differences in disease severity and/or clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant," the DOH said.
Meanwhile, the DOH also detected also reported other new cases of omicron subvariants: 454 were classified as BA.2.3.20; 196 as XBB (including the one cases of XBB.1.5); 79 as XBC; 28 as BA.5 (including six cases classified as BQ.1); seven as BA.2.75 (including the three cases CH.1.1 and three cases classified as BN.1), and 160 classified as other Omicron sublineages.
Tuesday’s cases
In a related development, only 67 more cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by the DOH on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
The regions with the highest number of cases in the last two weeks were Metro Manila with 583 cases, followed by Calabarzon with 239; Davao Region with 164; Western Visayas with 140; and Central Luzon with 128.
The additional cases brought the country's tally of cases to 4,073,980, of which, 9,268 patients are still battling with Covid-19.
Of the total, 3,998,837 patients were able to beat Covid-19. However, 65,875 people died.