The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday announced that 17 more cases of the &nbsp;COVID-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 or &ldquo;Arcturus&rdquo; were detected in the country.&nbsp;
Based on their latest biosurveillance report conducted from May 15 to 17, the DOH identified seven Arcturus cases in Western Visayas, five in Davao Region, two in the National Capital Region, and one each in Bicol Region, Central Visayas, and Mimaropa.
The additional 17 cases brought the total caselod of Arcturus to 28.&nbsp;
The&nbsp;XBB.1.16 is tagged as a &ldquo;variant of interest&rdquo; by the World Health Organization (WHO), and a &ldquo;variant under monitoring&rdquo; by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The Department of Health earlier urged the public to remain vigilant and follow health protocols, such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
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PH logs 17 more Arcturus cases detected, total now at 28