ILOILO – The Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 has recorded 87 cases of JN.1 variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with four deaths in Western Visayas from November 2023 to January this year.
Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, head of Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO), said they received the report from DOH-6’s Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) on Wednesday, Jan. 17
The IPHO, Quiñon said, is still investigating the profile and status of cases.
The four deaths, she added, had comorbidities and most of them were senior citizens.
“Kagapon gin-inform kita sang DOH-RESU nga may ara kita nga cases of JN. 1 COVID-19 variant strains, apat gid ang napatay out of 80 plus cases. The four deaths were all immunocompromised. May ara kita da oldest nga 87 years old and youngest was less than one year old,” Quiñon said in an interview with Panay News on Thursday, Jan. 18.
The JN.1 is a newly dominant variant of COVID-19 and recently classified by the World Health Organization as a “variant of interest,” but the DOH noted that there is still no evidence of increased severity in the variant.
“New variants and strains of viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are always there – but only a few become “of concern”. JN.1 is not one of those. It is another Omicron subvariant with no evidence of increased severity or unusual clinical presentation. There is also no evidence that it spreads faster,” DOH pointed out.
The signs and symptoms of JN.1 variant includes sore throat, congestion, runny nose, cough, fatigue, headache, muscle ache, and fever or chills.
Because of this, the IPHO is urging the public anew, especially the senior citizens and those with comorbidities, to wear facemask and sanitize hands using alcohol. Observing social distancing is also important in enclosed and congested areas.
And with the upcoming Dinagyang Festival celebration, the use of facemasks and practice of social distancing especially among high risk and vulnerable groups are essential with the thousands of people expected to fill Iloilo City streets.
“As much as possible keep your distance especially for those nga makita naton nga daw nagatrangkaso, indi na sagi kaparapit kay basi ina bag-o na nga variant or ang JN.1 COVID-19 variant,” Quiñon added.
IPHO’s COVID-19 daily case bulletin as of Jan. 18 showed the province has a total of 53,906 COVID-19 cases, of which 300 are active, 51,890 were recovered and 1,674 were deaths.
Of the active cases, 90 or 30 percent are asymptomatic, 180 cases or 60 percent are mild, and 30 cases or 10 percent are moderate.
Here is the breakdown of cases per age group:
* 61 years old and above – 9,008 cases
* 51 to 60 years old – 6,387 cases
* 41 to 50 years old – 6,922 cases
* 31 to 40 years old – 10,132 cases
* 21 to 30 years old – 12,645 cases
* 11 to 20 years old – 5,049 cases
* 1 to 10 years old – 3,062 cases
* less than one year old – 554 cases/PN
