MANILA – There are no changes in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) alert levels in the entire Western Visayas for the first 15 days of June.
lloilo City has been recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to remain in Alert Level 1 despite three reported cases of an Omicron subvariant of the COVID-19 virus, said deputy presidential spokesperson Kris Ablan at PTV 4 on Friday.
Since May 1, Iloilo province has been under Alert Level 1, which was described by the Department of Health as the “new normal” after months of being under Alert Level 2.
Other Western Visayas areas staying under the Alert Level 1 for the period of June 1 to 15 are Aklan, Bacolod City, Guimaras, and Capiz.
Also, component cities in Western Visayas that were previously downgraded to Alert Level 1 will keep their classifications for the remainder of the month.
Under COVID-19 Alert Level 1, establishments and public transportation can operate at full capacity, while schools can also implement in-person classes.
Negros Occidental and Antique, on the other hand, were recommended by the IATF-EID to stay under the COVID-19 Alert Level 2.
“The Alert Level 2 status of (Negros Occidental and Antique) is without prejudice to their respective component cities and municipalities which may otherwise be classified herein,” Ablan said.
Negros Occidental and Antique has been downgraded to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 since the start of March after weeks of being under Alert Level 3.
Last week, Western Visayas logged its three first cases of Omicron subvariant BA. 2.12.1, two of which were deemed local transmissions from the municipalities of Pavia and Zarraga in Iloilo province while the other case was a returning overseas Filipino (ROF).
The Department of Health (DOH) described the Omicron subvariant BA. 2.12.1 as highly transmissible.
A COVID-19 case is deemed a local transmission if it could not be epidemiologically linked to cases with significant international travel history.
One of the two local cases was a 69-year-old male. He was hospitalized in Iloilo province on May 5 and underwent a swab test on May 6.
His COVID-19-positive specimen was subsequently subjected to genome sequencing on May 12 and his having the Omicron sub-variant BA. 2.12.1 was confirmed.
The patient was scheduled to be discharged from the hospital on May 17.
The other local case was a 66-year-old male. He was hospitalized in Iloilo City on May 7. He was swabbed that same day, tested positive for COVD-19 and his specimen was also genome-sequenced at the Philippine Genome Center – Visayas (at the University of the Philippines Visayas in Miag-ao, Iloilo).
As this was being written, this case was still in an undisclosed hospital.
Meanwhile, the ROF Omicron sub-variant BA. 2.12.1 case was a 60-year-old female with history of travel to the United States.
She returned to the country on April 20. She left Manila via Cebu and arrived in Iloilo City on April 25.
She underwent swab testing on April 27 after exhibiting mild COVID-19 symptoms. Her specimen genome sequencing result was released on May 16.
The case was subjected to home quarantine from April 29 to May 11 and is presently deemed as recovered. She is also fully vaccinated against COVID-19./PN