The Department of Health says seven more cases of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, or Arcturus, were recorded in the Philippines, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 11.
However, the DOH clarified that the first four Arcturus cases had no links to international cases and no known history of exposure. It has yet to issue a statement on the seven new cases.
, which has been detected in over 30 countries, as a variant of interest, meaning it has “genetic changes that are predicted or known to affect variant characteristics ” and “a growth advantage over other circulating variants in more than one WHO region.”The announcement came amid rapidly increasing cases of the virus in the Philippines. As of May 19, the nationwide positivity rate for COVID-19 stood at 24.3%, with the National Capital Region logging a positivity rate of 26%.
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