2 FLiRT cases detected, daily cases of COVID up

THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported a slight uptick in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases as it disclosed that two cases of the “FLiRT” subvariants have already been detected in the Philippines.

In a statement, the DOH said the average daily COVID-19 cases recorded in the week of May 21 to 27 was at 319 cases, which is higher than the previous week’s figure of 202 cases.

The health department urged the public not to panic, pointing out that the average cases reported are still less than half compared to around 500 per day at the start of 2024.

The figures are also way lower if compared to the 1,750 COVID-19 cases per day in the middle of May 2023.

It likewise noted that, as of May 27, only 14 percent (174 out of 1,235) of dedicated COVID-19 ICU beds are occupied, while only 15 percent (1,601 out of 10,910) of total COVID-19 beds were occupied nationwide.

“Data as of May 27, 2024 shows that all Philippine regions remain to be at low risk for COVID-19,” said the DOH.

Meanwhile, coinciding with the uptick in COVID-19 cases, the DOH yesterday reported that the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) has detected two cases of the so-called “FLiRT” subvariants in the country.

The DOH said there were two cases of KP.2 that were detected alongside 30 cases of JN.1 and two cases of JN.1.18.

“The DOH has been operating with the assumption that the flagged Omicron subvariants are already likely here. Recent sequencing data by the Philippine Genome Center confirm this,” said the health department.

To note, the KP.2 and KP.3 are the official names of what is informally known as “FLiRT” subvariants.

According to the DOH, there is still no evidence that the KP.2 and KP.3 variants are causing severe to critical COVID-19 cases.

“Their detection, along with the slow increase in the number of new cases and the plateau in number of occupied COVID-19 beds, aligns with the international observation that the new variants under monitoring continue to be clinically mild and manageable,” said the DOH.

To note, there are currently four variants under monitoring, namely JN.1.7, JN.1.18, KP.2, and KP.3, all of which are descendants of JN.1 variants.