Passengers flock to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City on March 27, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — The Department of Health on Wednesday said the COVID surge in Singapore is not a cause for alarm but advised Filipinos to remain vigilant.

DOH spokesperson Albert Domingo said the new variants blamed for the coronavirus resurgence in Singapore and other countries — called KP.2 and KP.3 and collectively nicknamed by scientists as "FLiRT" — seemed to be highly transmissible but not deadlier compared to the previous variants.

Singapore recently listed 25,000 new COVID cases in a week, and most of the patients experienced only mild symptoms, Domingo told state television PTV.

While Singapore is logging an average of 3,700 new cases per day during the surge, the Philippines meanwhile is only reporting 125 new daily cases, he said.

The DOH on Tuesday said there was no reason for the Philippines to order travel restrictions amid the COVID surges in other countries, noting that such drastic measures had "no scientific basis."

READ: Philippines rules out COVID travel curb as 'FLiRT' variants spread

It also said that all regions in the Philippines remained at "low risk" for COVID.

"While there is an observed increase recently, it is small and lower than previously observed increases," the agency said.

As of May 12, only 11 percent of dedicated COVID ICU beds were occupied, while 13 percent of non-ICU COVID beds were occupied, the DOH said.

Health authorities advise the public to observe minimum health standards such as masking and staying at home when sick to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

 OTHER DISEASES

The public should watch out for other diseases during this time of the year, Domingo said. Among these are influenza-like illnesses, food poisoning, and water-borne illnesses, which could cause gastroenteritis.

“Kasama diyan mga ubo at sipon… Maaaring dahil yan sa yung ating nasal mucosa, yung loob ng ating mga ilong at ng ating lalamunan, naninibago sila sa tubig o hangin. Whether nababawas o tumataas yung humidity, naiiritate yung lining ng ating mga lalamunan at ilong,” he said.

(This also includes cough and colds… That may be due to our nasal mucosa, the lining inside our nose and throats, adjusting to air and water, The internal lining tends to be irritated whether there is an increase or decrease in humidity.)

Leptospirosis — which comes from bacteria from the urine of rodents — and the mosquito-borne dengue are also common this time of the year, he said.