With the continuing threat of the Omicron variant, the Department of Health in the Davao Region (DOH-11) urged the public on Friday to catch up with the anti-coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination to boost immunization rates immediately.
DOH-11 Assistant Director Lenny Joy Rivera said there is still a need for the unvaccinated to get their jabs despite no case of the variant was recorded in the Davao Region.
“Since we don’t have yet (the) Omicron variant in our region, may we request all areas which have lower vaccination rates to catch up immediately so that when Omicron gets to our areas, we can also catch up in providing additional protection to the people against Covid-19 variants,” she said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.
Rivera emphasized that getting the vaccination is one of the best ways to prevent hospitalization.
“I urge everyone to strictly follow the minimum public health standard even at home – to have a good ventilation, mask, distancing, disinfection, and remain not to be complacent,” she said.
On January 2, the DOH, the University of the Philippines -Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the Philippines -National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) reported that 29 new cases of the Omicron were detected from 48 samples sequenced.
The 29 Omicron variant cases are composed of 10 returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and 19 local cases with indicated addresses in the National Capital Region.
Of the 19 local cases, 14 cases are still active, three cases have been tagged as recovered, and there are two cases whose outcomes are still being verified.
Currently, the total number of confirmed Omicron variant cases in the country is at 43, according to the DOH.
Meanwhile, apart from the recent 29 Omicron cases, there were also 18 positive for the Delta variant while one had no lineage assigned.
Of the additional 18 Delta variant cases, 8 were ROFs.
The 10 local cases of the Delta variant also had NCR as their indicated address.
The new cases brought the total number of confirmed Delta variant cases to 8,497.
Source: Philippines News Agency
