THIRD OMICRON CASE | Philippines detects third Omicron case, a migrant worker from Qatar

December 20, 2021 , 03:14 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(December 20, 2021) – The Philippines on Monday reported its third imported case of the Omicron variant from a Filipino migrant worker from Qatar as the country braced for another potential surge of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Health Department said the third case was from a 36 year-old sea-based migrant worker, who arrived at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on November 28 via a Qatar Airways flight numbered QR 924. The discovery was made after his sample was sequenced at the Philippine Genome Center.

The unvaccinated seaman also previously traveled in Egypt, which confirmed its first Omicron variant cases last Saturday. After undergoing quarantine in an isolation facility upon arrival at the airport, he tested for COVID-19 on December 4 and received his results on December 5. The health department said the seaman is asymptomatic and undergoing home quarantine in Cavite, after he tested negative last Sunday.

The Philippines detected its first two Omicron variant cases last week from a returning overseas Filipino from Japan and a Nigerian national who transited through Oman.

The variant, which has been reported in 89 countries in just less than a month after it was discovered by South African experts and classified as a variant of concern, has been found to spread faster than previous strains, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Little is still known about the variant, but preliminary data suggests that it may be more resistant to vaccine protection than other variants and have a higher risk of reinfecting people who have previously caught COVID-19, WHO said.

The country is currently imposing travel bans from Andorra, France, Monaco, Northern Mariana Islands, Réunion, San Marino, South Africa, and Switzerland.

The department said that the government should enforce stronger border surveillance and control to prevent the Omicron variant from spreading further. They also urged local governments to watch out for and swiftly respond to COVID-19 cases and clusters.

Authorities also urged the public to maintain health protocols, minimize visits to closed, crowded, and close contact settings, and get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible, especially the elderly and immunocompromised people.

The department reported a total of 203 daily COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the lowest daily figures the country recorded this year. The Delta variant remains to be the dominant variant in the country, based on the samples sequenced by the PGC.

(MM)

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