PH detects 492 new Omicron variant cases, as new COVID infections decline for 2nd straight day
The Department of Health (DOH) has detected 492 new cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant on Jan. 19, Wednesday, as new cases declined for the second consecutive day.
Out of the 714 samples sequenced by the Philippine Genome center last Jan. 13 and 14, 492 or nearly 70% of the cases were of the highly transmissible Omicron strain.
332 of these are local cases and the other 160 are returning overseas Filipino.
From the local Omicron infections, 227 had their indicated addresses in the National Capital Region. 76 of them are from Calabarzon, 11 from Central Luzon, and five from Central Visayas. Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Davao Region, SOCCKSARGEN, and the Cordillera Administrative Region also recorded two Omicron cases each, while Ilocos Region, MIMAROPA, and the Bangsamoro Automomous Region logged one case each.
The DOH on Jan. 15 confirmed that there is already a community transmission of the Omicron variant in Metro Manila where most of the strain has been detected.
Three of the Omicron cases are still active, two have died, and 467 have been tagged as recovered. The outcome of the other 20 cases is still being verified.
BREAKING: DOH reports 492 new cases of the #Omicron variant.
— Edson C. Guido (@EdsonCGuido) January 19, 2022
That's nearly 70% of the 714 samples sequenced last January 13-14.
Of the 492 new Omicron cases, 332 are local cases and 160 are Returning Overseas Filipinos. pic.twitter.com/W7vdVi8LQc
The health department also logged 22,958 new cases on Wednesday, with six laboratories failing to submit data. This brings the total active case count in the country to 270,728.
In addition, there are 36,611 new recoveries and 82 new deaths.
Based on data from Jan. 17, 43% of the 62,531 tests turned out positive for the coronavirus.
Ngayong 4 PM, Enero 19, 2022, ang Department of Health ay nakapagtala ng 22,958 na karagdagang kaso ng COVID-19. Samantala ay mayroon namang naitalang 36,611 na gumaling at 82 na pumanaw. pic.twitter.com/JESpirSH6F
— Department of Health (@DOHgovph) January 19, 2022