THREE Negrense returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) were among the 30 new cases of Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 that causes coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Western Visayas, as of Thursday, January 27, 2022.
In a press briefing, the Department of Health (DOH) - Western Visayas, however, said they are still coordinating with concerned local government units (LGUs) if the ROFs have already arrived at their indicated addresses.
Zephard Caelian, head of the Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD), said the Provincial Health Office (PHO) is now leading the contact tracing of the ROFs.
Caelian, also the commander of the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT), said based on the initial information they received, the ROFs have already recuperated from the disease.
Aside from the three Negrense ROFs, Omicron cases in Western Visayas included Iloilo City with 12 cases, Capiz with 14, Iloilo Province with two, Guimaras and Aklan with one each.
Nationwide, the DOH, University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and University of the Philippines -National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) reported that of the 677 samples sequenced, 618 or 91 percent were Omicron variant cases and 35 were Delta variant cases or about 5.17 percent detected in the latest batch of whole-genome sequencing.
The 618 Omicron variant cases were composed of 497 local cases and 121 ROFs, the DOH said.
Based on the case line list, 13 cases were still active, two cases died, 560 cases were tagged as recovered, and there were 43 cases whose outcomes are still being verified.
As of Thursday, there were a total of five deaths among confirmed Omicron cases, while the total number of confirmed Omicron variant cases in the country was at 1,153.
Meanwhile, the DOH-Western Visayas reported that as of Wednesday, January 26, the two-week growth rate of Covid-19 cases or the increase of the new cases in Bacolod City was now at 467 percent while 421 percent in Negros Occidental.
The daily average attack rate or the number of new cases over the past 14 days per 100,000 population in the highly urbanized city of Bacolod was 23.53 percent, while that of the province was at 6.12 percent.
The positivity rate of Bacolod and Negros Occidental was at 42 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
Hospitalization rate in Bacolod stood at 56.91 percent or more than half of the beds intended for Covid-19 patients were occupied.
This was the same with the scenario in the province where 66.57 percent of the Covid-19 beds were in use, the DOH in the region said.
The agency strongly urged the public to complete their primary series of vaccines and boosters, especially those who are most vulnerable to the virus such as the elderly, the young, and the sick.
It added that the vaccines provided by the government are proven to be safe and effective in preventing hospitalization, even death caused by severe and critical symptoms.