Sa inilabas na pahayag, sinabi ng kagawaran na apektado ng subvariant ang isang 52-anyos na babaeng Finnish mula sa Finland. Dumating ang dayuhan noong April 2.
Hindi kinailangang sumailalim ng dayuhan sa routine isolation sa quarantine facility dahil fully vaccinated ito at asymptomatic.
“The case then traveled to a university in Quezon City and then to Baguio City to conduct seminars. Nine days after her arrival in the country, she experienced mild symptoms such as headache and sore throat,” ayon sa DOH.
Ngunit noong sumunod na araw, nagpositibo sa nakahahawang sakit ang dayuhan
“Upon detection of this confirmed Covid-19 case, the local epidemiology and surveillance unit (LESU) performed contact tracing. Nine asymptomatic close contacts were identified. Two of them were tested and found to be negative,” sabi ng DOH.
Natapos na rin ng Finnish national ang pitong araw na isolation at naka-recover at na-discharge na.
Noong April 21, nakabalik na ang dayuhan sa Finland.
Sa ngayon, patuloy na inaalam ng health experts ang katangian ng nasabing Omicron subvariant.
“It is a sublineage of the currently circulating Omicron variant which has been recently flagged by the United States Center for Disease Control (US-CDC) to be observed in increasing Covid-19 cases in the United States from two weeks ago,” pahayag ng DOH.
Ayon pa sa kagawaran, hindi pa itinuturing ng World Health Organization (WHO) ang BA.2.12 bilang bagong variant of interest (VOI) o variant of concern (VOC).
“The DOH assures the public that the country’s surveillance systems are able to detect new cases and characterize their lineage,” pagtitiyak ng kagawaran.
Umapela naman ang DOH sa publiko na patuloy na sundin ang health protocols at magpabakuna kontra sa COVID-19.
“The public can avoid all variants, whether new or currently circulating, by continuing to wear the best-fitting mask, isolate when sick, double-up protection through vaccination and boosters, and ensure good airflow,” saad nito.