The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday announced that it detected the country's first case of the BA.2.12 Omicron sub-variant in Baguio City.
The case is a 52-year-old Finnish woman who arrived to the Philippines from Finland last April 2. She was fully vaccinated and arrived asymptomatic, according to the DOH, hence she was not required to undergo isolation at a quarantine facility.
DOH retraced her steps from Finland to a university in Quezon City and then to Baguio City, where she conducted seminars.
The case only experienced mild symptoms of COVID-19, such as headache and sore throat, nine days after her arrival, before testing positive for COVID-19 via Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) the day after, said the DOH.
"Subsequently, the case has finished her seven-day isolation and has recovered and discharged. The patient returned to her home country on April 21, 2022," said the department in a statement.
According to the DOH, they identified nine asymptomatic close contacts after the woman tested positive, two of whom have been tested and are negative for COVID-19.
The BA2.12 is a sublineage of the Omicron variant that was recently flagged by the United States Center for Disease Control for increasing COVID-19 cases there from two weeks ago.
It was detected by the DOH through its Center for Health Development in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The department, however, assured that the BA.2.12 is not yet a variant of interest nor a variant of concern.
"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," it reminded.
