(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday, May 29, that the Philippines won't have to undergo past pandemic restrictions as it intends to take full control regarding the possible effects of the emerging new variants of Covid-19, dubbed “FLiRT”.

DOH spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo gave this assurance to members of the House of Representatives during an oversight meeting by the Committee on Appropriations with the agency.

It was ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro who sought this response from the DOH in the wake of possibly another period of health restrictions in the country.

“Para malaman din ng mamamayan natin, at hindi tayo magiging kampante, hindi rin tayo nananakot sa ating mga kababayan. So how ready are we sa mga nababalitang FLiRT Covid?” asked Castro.

(So that our people will be in the know, and we will neither be complacent, nor resort to threatening our countrymen. So how ready are we for the reported FLiRT Covid?)

“So tinitiyak ba ng DOH na hindi na natin ma-experience yung 2020, 2021, 2022 level na Covid?” she continued.

(So is the DOH making sure that we will not experience the 2020, 2021, 2022 level of Covid?)

Domingo answered in the affirmative and said that the agency was indeed making sure that the country was prepared against the emerging Covid variants.

In a recent statement, the DOH said that the FLiRT variants were already present in the country. However, there is as yet no evidence that these variants can cause severe to critical Covid-19.

Citing the agency’s latest data, Domingo says the occupancy rate for dedicated intensive care unit (ICU) beds for Covid-19 patients is at 12 percent. 

Out of 1,155 beds, only 141 are currently occupied.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 beds that are not in the ICU have an occupancy rate of 14 percen, wiith only 1,435 occupied out of 10,356 nationwide.

“Yun pong occupancy is mababa, ibig sabihin po mild yung mga kaso (The occupancy is low, which means the cases are mild),” said Domingo. 

The DOH spokesperson noted that while the FLiRT variants only pose low or mild case severity, they could be behind the slight increase in Covid-19 cases in the country.

He explained that during the start of 2024, the average per day of new cases is about 500. But in the month of May, the average increased to about 1,750.

“Pero wala po tayong nakita na delikado noon time na yun, as wala rin tayong nakikita ang delikado sa panahon ngayon,” he told lawmakers.

(But we didn't see anything dangerous back then, just like we don't see anything dangerous today.)

Meanwhile, Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin, a former DOH Secretary, said the department should also prepare funding for vaccine pronouncement against Covid-19, especially the updated version of the jab once it becomes available.

In the meantime, Garin said pneumonia and flu vaccines should be taken.

“For the information of the general public, it's not a situation where we should panic, but it's a situation where we should be prepared,” she said.