The Makati Medical Center clarified on Wednesday, May 22, that there is no reason for the public to panic following an advisory issued on Monday, May 20, noting a slight increase in Covid-19 cases at the hospital.

In the advisory, it was stated that there has been a slight increase in Covid-19 cases, as reflected in both its Covid occupancy and the incidence of cases among its healthcare workers.

“After having zero occupancy for many days in the 8th Floor Covid Wing, we [have] had to increase our capacity to a dozen beds since a few days ago,” MMC Medical Director Saturnino P. Javier said in the statement.

“Our daily Covid-19 occupancy varies from 50 to 70%, mostly patients with co-morbidities or patients with other serious illnesses who have tested positive for Covid-19,” he added.

Meanwhile, he mentioned that there are no healthcare workers (HCWs) admitted for Covid-19, of which around 20 of them who tested positive are currently in home isolation.

He also stated that the recorded cases are mostly moderate, with no preponderance of severe or critical cases.

However, he added that while they maintain that there is no reason for alarm, he encouraged the public to still practice basic infection control measures such as wearing face masks, observing cough etiquette, and handwashing, among others.

MakatiMed acknowledged that the advisory might have caused panic in the community, so on Wednesday, Javier reiterated that “there is no cause for panic.”

“The Covid-19 situation remains a manageable scenario, allowing regular and normal in-patient and outpatient operations,” Javier said.

Javier also mentioned that they are continuously monitoring the FLIRT variant (JN.1 sublineage) in other countries like the US, India, and Singapore.