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Philippines detects 3 more cases of omicron subvariant Arcturus; total now 4

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 Davinci Maru, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (green) infected with the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (pink), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/05/12/covid-19-niaid-05122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (green) infected with the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (pink), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. <em>Credit: NIAID</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA (UPDATE) — The Philippines has detected 3 additional cases of omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, raising its tally to 4, according to the Department of Health.</p><p>The 3 local XBB.1.16 cases were found in Western Visayas, the DOH&#x27;s latest COVID-19 biosurveillance report showed.</p><p>XBB.1.16, also known as &quot;Arcturus,&quot; is a descendent lineage of XBB, a recombinant of two BA.2 descendent lineages. </p><p>The DOH previously said the strain is capable of evading immunity and appears to be more contagious than previous variants.</p><p>In a statement, the health department said there is a local transmission of XBB.1.16 &quot;since there is an increasing number of cases of the variant with no linkages to international cases or no known history of exposure&quot;.</p><p>The agency added that DOH COVID-19 cases continued to increase, with a daily average of 1,533 cases as of May 10, which is 75 percent higher from last week.</p><p>This is similar to the number of cases reported on July 11, 2022, with 1,506 cases per day, it added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/26/23/doh-first-arcturus-case-is-from-iloilo-has-recovered">DOH: First &#x27;Arcturus&#x27; case in PH is from Iloilo, patient has recovered</a></li></ul><p>The agency also detected 197 new cases of omicron subvariants.</p><p>Of the figure, 156 were classified as XBB, which include 72 XBB.1.9.1 cases, 35 XBB.1.5 cases and 13 XBB.1.9.2 cases; 27 as BA.2.3.20; 1 case as BA.5; and 13 as other omicron sublineages.</p><p>Of the recently detected XBB cases, 2 were returning overseas Filipinos while 154 were local cases from regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, CAR, and NCR, the DOH said.</p><p>Meanwhile, the additional BA.5 case was a local case from NCR, and additional BA.2.3.20 cases detected were from Regions 1, 2, 4A, 6, 7, 11, Caraga, and NCR.</p><p>These are results of the latest sequencing run conducted by San Lazaro Hospital and the University of the Philippines - Philippine Genome Center from April 26 to May 6, the DOH said.</p><p>The WHO designated the XBB.1.16 as a variant of interest or VOI in April following a sustained increase in its prevalence. It has so far spread to dozens of countries.</p><p>As of May 11, the country has 13,964 active COVID-19 cases, the DOH&#x27;s COVID-19 Tracker showed. </p><p>Of some 4.1 million infections logged since the start of the pandemic, 66,453 led to death.<br/> </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/05/09/23/doh-iginiit-na-di-pa-tapos-ang-pandemic-sa-kabila-ng-pahayag-ng-who">DOH iginiit na di pa tapos ang pandemic sa kabila ng pahayag ng WHO</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2609999" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div><strong>— With a report from Raphael Bosano, ABS-CBN News</strong></div>

The Philippines has detected 3 additional cases of omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, raising its tally to 4, according to the Department of Health.

Philippines detects 3 more cases of omicron subvariant Arcturus; total now 4

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Philippines detects 3 more cases of omicron subvariant Arcturus; total now 4

Davinci Maru,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 12, 2023 02:05 PM PHT

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Updated May 12, 2023 03:34 PM PHT

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