(Eagle News)–The Philippines has detected four more cases of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 or “Arcturus.”
The Department of Health said of the new cases, two were identified in Central Luzon and another two in Western Visayas.
The Bicol Region, Mimaropa, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) have one Arcturus case each.
The DOH said the figure was based on samples sequenced by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), and the University of the Philippines – Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) main and Visayas from May 9 to May 11.
With the additional Arcturus cases, the total number rose to 11.
The DOH has said it was likely the country was experiencing a local transmission since no linkages were detected among the cases.
The Arcturus subvariant is “under monitoring” by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.