The Philippines reported 5,690 new Covid-19 cases over the past week, the Department of Health said Monday.

In its latest case bulletin, the DoH said the country's average cases per day are 813, which is 25 percent lower compared to the daily average cases last week.

The data also showed a total of 172 additional verified Covid-19-related deaths were belatedly recorded.

Of the 172 deaths, 27 occurred in December 2022, 10 in November 2022, 15 in October 2022, 19 in September 2022, five in August 2022, two in March 2022, nine in February 2022, 10 in January 2022, two in December 2021, two in November 2021, 10 in October 2021, 17 in September 2021, 9 in August 2021, four in July 2021, four in June 2021, four in May 2021, 13 in April 2021, six in March 2021, one in November 2020, one in October 2020, one in September 2020, and one in August 2020.

The department also recorded three additional severe and critical admissions which are 0.05 percent of total Covid-19 admissions.

Of the 2,367 intensive care unit beds, 451, or 19.1 percent were occupied while 3,324, or 17.6 percent of non-ICU beds were being used.

In a related development, Dr. Tony Leachon, a former special adviser of the National Task Force against Covid-19, said the government must be worried about the presence of the Omicron subvariant BF.7 in the country.

Leachon issued the remarks following the confirmation from the DoH that the country now has four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7.

The Omicron subvariant BF.7 is believed to be the cause of the new spike in infections in China.

Citing the average Chinese tourists arriving in the country, Leachon urged the government to come up with a contingency plan should the new Omicron subvariant drive new infections.

"We have around 2 million Chinese visitors every year and because of the lack of solid plans in terms of the procurement of the bivalent vaccines, which can address the old Wuhan strain and the new variants, this may be a concern," he said in a radio interview.

At the moment, the World Health Organization classified BF.7 — a sublineage of the Omicron BA.5 — under "variant under monitoring" due to its increasing prevalence globally.

The World Health Organization previously expressed its concern over the Covid-19 situation in China, following reports of a surge in infections in the said country.

"WHO is very concerned over the evolving situation in China with increasing reports of severe disease," WHO chief Dr.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news briefing.

Ghebreyesus said to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, the WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions, and requirements for ICU support.

Aside from China, the Omicron BF.7 has also been detected in India, the United States and Europe.

Postpone China trip, BBM urged Unless President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has acquired bivalent vaccines, he must reconsider visiting China, which is facing the biggest Covid-19 surge of the pandemic worldwide, for a state visit in early January, according to Leachon, a former adviser to the national task force on Covid-19.

He said government officials must examine the pandemic situation in China to determine whether the world's most populous country is actually experiencing an unimaginable Covid-19 surge.

"I think the President should, in the next three days, have a clear understanding and recognition of the (Covid-19 cases) report in China," Leachon said during a television interview on Monday.

"I think that's very important and then if there really is a surge without the presence of bivalent vaccines particularly the delegation of the President, I think President should reconsider the trip," he added.

Reportedly, China is experiencing a massive surge due to the BF.7 subvariant, a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5 that can infect even vaccinated individuals.

"I think what the government should do is review the reports of those reputable publications. That's number one. I think the Department of Health, together with the Department of Foreign Affairs, should actually look at the picture and see right there on the ground in China whether these cases are really true because we need to verify the data," he said.

"It's very difficult for the President to go there without any clear data as to the surge… I think there should be right now a preliminary report as to the cases of Covid in China before the President goes to China next week," he added.

The Daily Tribune has tried to ask OPS if the President is considering to reschedule his trip to China, but OPS has yet to respond.

WITH MICHELLE GUILLANG
@tribunephl_mish