The Philippines on Saturday tallied 517 new COVID-19 cases as the Omicron variant remained undetected in the country.
The day's tally brought active cases to 14,338, with a total of 1,139 new recoveries and 243 new deaths reported.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has logged a total of 2,834,294 COVID-19 cases of which 2,770,726 recovered and 49,230 died.
Southeast Asian neighbor Malaysia on Friday reported its first case of the new variant. South Africa, where the variant was first isolated and sequenced, is facing a surge in mild cases.
While still undetected in the country, the Philippine Genome Center said it is possible the new variant may have already entered the border. Samples are being sequenced and travel restrictions have been implemented in a move to contain the new variant.
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