This was confirmed by the spokesman of the City’s COVID-19 Task Force, Dr. Michelle Schlosser in a report released Thursday (Dec. 16).
Although the city continues to have a low number of cases and positivity rate, Schlosser however said the people should not be complacent and should continue following the minimum public health measures such as the wearing of face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, and getting vaccinated against the coronavirus.
She said the situation depends on the people’s discipline to follow the safety health practices.
"It is better if we can avoid unnecessary gathering, practice our hand hygiene, and also avail vaccination,” she said.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday (Dec 15) confirmed two travelers to the Philippines were detected contracting Omicron or (B. 1.1.529) variant. They are currently isolated in a facility managed by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ).
One of the two travelers is a Returning Overseas Filipino (ROF) who arrived from Japan on December 1, via Philippine Airlines flight number PR 0427 whose sample was collected on December 5.
The positive result of the passenger was released on December 7 and the case was admitted to an isolation facility on the same date. The individual is currently asymptomatic but had symptoms of colds and cough upon arrival.
The other case is a Nigerian national who arrived from Nigeria on November 30, via Oman Air with flight number WY 843. A sample was collected on December 6, and the result was released on December 7. The passenger was admitted to an isolation facility on the same date. His current status is also asymptomatic.
The DOH, the University of the Philippines - Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the Philippines - National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) report indicated that the two imported cases of the Omicron (B. 1.1.529) variants of concern were detected from the 48 samples sequenced on December 14.
Schlosser, meanwhile, said the city's positivity rate this week is 0.5 percent and the total number of active cases is 99 during the past 14 days.
The majority of the cases are mild, she said.
Schlosser continuously urged the public to avoid holding mass gatherings to curb the transmission of COVID-19.
The DOH has also urged unvaccinated individuals to get vaccinated during the National Vaccination Days for their protection against COVID-19.
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