838 New COVID Cases Logged as Omicron Variant Raises Alarm Worldwide

The Philippines on Sunday logged 838 new COVID-19 cases as the new Omicron COVID-19 variant raised alarm and prompted the reimposition of travel restrictions around the world.

The day's tally brought active cases to 16,630, with a total of 1,217 new recoveries and 156 new deaths reported.

Overall, a total of 2,831,807 COVID-19 cases have been reported since the pandemic began in March 2020, of which 2,766,816 have recovered and 48,361 died.

The Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, has been classified as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization. The United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, and Australia had confirmed their first cases of the new COVID-19 strain.

The Philippines on Friday banned flights from South Africa and other countries with cases of the Omicron variant, while Israel will close its borders to foreign nationals beginning Sunday to arrest the spread of the new variant.

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