The Philippines remains classified as “low risk” for COVID-19, according to the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday. This assessment comes after reviewing data from the week of May 21st to 27th.
“The situation is manageable,” said the DOH. Hospital bed occupancy for COVID-19 patients remains low, with only 14% of dedicated ICU beds and 15% of total COVID beds currently in use.
While there has been a slight increase in cases compared to the prior week (319 daily average vs. 202), this number is still “less than half” compared to earlier this year (around 500 daily cases) and significantly lower than mid-2023 (around 1,750 daily cases).
The DOH also highlighted that most new cases are mild, with only 22 reported as severe or critical during the same period. There were 20 COVID-19 deaths reported, with five occurring in the past two weeks.
The department emphasized that there’s no current evidence suggesting the recently monitored KP.2 and KP.3 variants (“FLiRT”) cause severe illness, either locally or internationally.
The DOH continues to urge the public to practice preventive measures such as good respiratory hygiene, handwashing, and avoiding crowded spaces.