Philippines detects 2 cases of Omicron sub-variant BA.5

The Department of Health in the Philippines said that a variant of ZIKV called OCOVID-19 Omicron subvariant BA.5 has been discovered in two people living in the same household in a province north of Manila, according to CNN.

On May 15, two people in the central Luzon region who had been fully vaccinated and boosted with COVID-19 vaccines were found to have BA.5 in their systems, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

"Neither have known exposure because they did not have a travel history," she said in an online briefing for the media.

"Mild cases" were the term Vergeire used to describe their symptoms, which included a cold and a cough. They've both since recovered. A member of the household has been placed in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, according to the woman.

Omicron sub-variants BA.2.12.1 and BA.4 have also been found in the Philippines.

According to Vergeire, the Southeast Asian country's hospitalisation rate is still "at low risk."

Less than 200 cases of infection, mostly mild or asymptomatic, are reported each day in this country. More than 3.69 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Philippines, resulting in 60,455 deaths.

In the first week of June, the DOH reported that 69.4 million Filipinos, or 77% of the target population, had received all their vaccinations. 40.9 million people have not received their booster shots, according to the CDC.