The Department of Health (DOH) has detected 816 additional cases of the BA.5 Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that based on the latest sequencing run, all regions have detected the variant except for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Meanwhile, 12 returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) tested positive for the BA.5 Omicron subvariant as well.
Of the 816 cases, Vergeire said 560 individuals were fully vaccinated, while the vaccination status of the 256 remaining individuals was still being verified.
The DOH also noted that 686 individuals are now tagged as recovered from BA.5, 78 are still isolated, while the status of 52 others is being verified.
In the same briefing, the DOH also announced 42 new BA.4 infections and 52 more patients infected with BA.2.12.1.
Of the 42 BA.4 infections, 36 have already recovered, five are under isolation, and another one is under verification.
Out of the 52 new BA.2.12.1 infections, one each was detected in Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, CAR, Caraga, and NCR.
Among the BA.2.12.1 cases, 49 individuals are now tagged as recovered while the status of three others is still being verified.
Several health experts claimed that the Omicron subvariants of COVID-19 are highly transmissible and can evade vaccine protection.
