MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health said on Monday, June 13, that COVID-19 cases reported on June 6 to 12 were 30.4% higher compared to the previous week.

In its weekly COVID-19 case bulletin, the DOH tallied a total of 1,682 infections translating to 240 cases per day. This was a significant rise from 1,295 cases recorded on May 30 to June 5.

The DOH said that as of Sunday, June 12, there were 498 critical and severe patients admitted to the hospitals due to COVID-19. Despite this, hospital utilization in the country remains at low risk.

Noong ika-12 ng Hunyo 2022, mayroong 498 na malubha at kritikal na pasyente na naka-admit sa ating mga ospital dahil sa COVID-19. Sa 2,078 ICU beds para sa mga pasyenteng may COVID-19, 345 (16.6%) ang okupado. pic.twitter.com/taI8NlUaeo

— Department of Health Philippines (@DOHgovph) June 13, 2022

Earlier on Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that it was possible for Metro Manila to be placed under Alert Level 2 in case COVID-19 cases continue to rise and hospital admissions increase.

“The DOH is continuously monitoring all these metrics. As long as the admissions and severity of cases in the hospitals do not affect our healthcare utilization rate, Alert Level 1 is still in effect. But, we have to be mindful that continuing increases in the cases might lead to escalation of the Alert Level,” the DOH told reporters in a Viber message.

Currently, Metro Manila and a number of areas in the country are under Alert Level 1.

The spike in cases comes as the country detected cases of more infectious subvariants of Omicron a month after the elections.

In an interview with Rappler on Wednesday, June 8, infectious disease specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante said that Omicron subvariants can cause an increase in cases but not significant enough to overwhelm hospitals.

“They are highly transmissible but I don’t think they can cause severe symptoms. They can only cause mild symptoms. I don’t think it can cause the surge that we have experienced before that we need to have lockdowns… There will be increase in cases but I don’t think it will be significant that will cause [our] healthcare system [to be] overwhelmed,” Solante said. – Rappler.com