ILOILO City – Cases here of the more transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rose to 17 with the detection of 16 more of such infections.
“The cases are being assessed. Two have not yet recovered so they were referred to infectious disease specialists,” said Dr. Marigold Calsas, chief of the City Health Office’s City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU).
The concerned individuals were right away informed after the results of their specimens’ analysis by the Philippine Genome Center were made known to the city government.
The 14 other cases already recovered but they will be swabbed again. If their test results are negative, there would be no need to quarantine them, said Calsas.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been called a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Early findings suggest that there is a reduced risk of hospitalization for Omicron compared to the Delta variant. But WHO warns that it should not be dismissed as “mild”.
Increased transmission is expected to lead to more hospitalizations. That increase causes strain on frontline workers and healthcare systems, which in turn can result in more deaths.
Of the 16 cases, six were from La Paz district; five from Mandurriao; three from Jaro; and one each from Arevalo and Molo.
Nine of the cases had a history of travel to Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan during the holidays, said Calsas.
Thirteen of the cases were vaccinated while three were not, she added.
The CESU chief also revealed that half of these cases were asymptomatic (not showing COVID-19 symptoms) while the rest had cough, fever, fatigue, runny nose, and sneezing but all were home quarantined, said Calsas.
There is consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant in countries with documented community transmission, with a doubling time of two to three days. The overall risk related to this new variant remains very high.
Mayor Jerry Treñas thus reiterated the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 and having booster shots, and the continued observance of minimum health protocols – wearing of facemask, proper washing or disinfection of hands and physical distancing – to prevent transmission.
Iloilo City’s first COVID-19 Omicron variant case was detected early this month – 46-year-old unvaccinated male seafarer from Arevalo district.
The seafarer was the second reported Omicron case in Western Visayas. The first was recorded in Bacolod City – a 38-year-old crew of a cruise ship./PN
