The Department of Health (DoH) on Saturday said that it has detected the first case of the highly contagious Omicron BA.4 subvariant from a Filipino who arrived from the Middle East on 4 May 2022.,“His positive test result for the subvariant was from a specimen collected on 8 May. He was asymptomatic,” the DoH said.,The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) classified Omicron subvariant BA.4 as a variant of concern as it spread faster or cause worse illness.,“While the ECDC has not observed any change in severity for BA.4 compared to other Omicron subvariants, we must be careful because faster transmission will lead to a spike in cases that could overwhelm our hospitals and clinics,” according to the DoH.,According to the DoH, it is now coordinating with the concerned local government units to rapidly implement detection and isolation activities., ,