THE Department of Health (DOH) reported a downward trend in the number of influenza-like illness (ILI) and COVID-19 cases as per its latest data.
The DOH continues to closely monitor the number of cases of the two illnesses and expects the number to plateau over the next month.
A total of 16,155 ILI cases were reported from January 1 to February 3, 2024 in the country, which is 19-percent lower compared to 19,935 ILI cases reported in the same period last year.
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The number of ILI cases was also observed to decline, the DOH said, as it reported a total of 7,372 cases from January 7 to 20, 2024 compared to the December 24, 2023 to January 6, 2024 with 8,199 cases. This number has gone down further to only 4,487 cases, from January 21 to February 3, 2024, which the agency expects may change as there may be late consultations and reports.
At a regional level, Regions I, IV-B, XII, Caraga, and BARMM showed an uptick in the number of cases in the past 3-4 weeks (January 7 to 20, 2024), growing from 266 to 967 new cases.
Nine deaths have been reported from January 1-February 3, 2024 resulting to a case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.06 percent for 2024.
Meanwhile, as of February 11, 2024, out of the 1,345 dedicated COVID-19 ICU beds, only 151 (11 percent) were occupied, while only 1,528 (14 percent) of the 11,291 dedicated COVID-19 non-ICU beds were occupied. Severe and critical COVID-19 cases admitted in various hospitals total to only 184, based on hospital reports in the DOH Data Collect application.
From February 6 to 12, about 661 new COVID-19 cases were reported, or an average of only 94 cases reported daily. This is 35-percent lower compared to the average number of daily cases recorded last January 30 to February 5. Out of the new cases reported, seven had severe or critical disease. Only two deaths were recorded, both of which occurred from January 30 to February 12, 2024.
The DOH is glad that the population continues to practice good respiratory hygiene (covering coughs), washing hands, choosing less crowds, and ensuring good airflow and ventilation. The agency also advised the public to just stay home if they feel ill, or to wear a mask should there be a need to go out, in addition to being updated with vaccination in order to keep ILI and COVID-19 cases down.