Omicron has replaced Delta as dominant variant of the COVID-19 virus – Duque

Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed stock graph and words “Omicron SARS-CoV-2” in this illustration taken, Nov. 27, 2021. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

MANILA, Philippines — The highly contagious Omicron variant has replaced the Delta variant as the dominant variant of the COVID-19 virus in the Philippines, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in the taped weekly briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte that aired late Monday night.

“Based on our last run of genome sequencing, 60% of the samples sequenced were found positive for Omicron variant,” Duque said in Filipino.

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“So it’s already the dominant variant — whereas before it was the Delta,” he added.

On Jan. 6, the Department of Health detected a total of 43 cases of Omicron variant in the country.

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