PH’s Covid-19 active cases top 30,000-mark; tally now at 541,560

MANILA, Philippines — Total Covid-19 cases in the Philippines reached 541,560 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported an additional 1,345 infections.

Based on the health agency’s latest case bulletin, the number of active Covid-19 cases in the country is now at 30,188, even as 276 more patients were able to recover and increased the number of recovered patients from the respiratory disease to 499,971.

DOH likewise reported the demise of 114 coronavirus-positive individuals, which brought the nationwide death toll to 11,401.

According to DOH, the active cases represent 5.6 percent of the total case count, while recoveries and deaths were, respectively, 92.3 percent and 2.11 percent of the sum.

The latest figures, however, do not cover data from four laboratories that were not able to submit their data on time, DOH noted.

DOH also said 12 duplicates, including 10 recoveries, were removed from the total case count.

Nine cases previously tagged as deaths were likewise reclassified as recoveries, while 59 cases earlier tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation, it added.

So far, the country has already confirmed 25 cases of the more transmissible B.1.1.7. variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19. DOH earlier said that 22 of the patients have already recovered while one has died, and two others remain as active cases.

Over 700 specimens from Covid-19 patients, mostly from Metro Manila, Central Visayas, Calabarzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region, are being subjected to genome sequencing this week to identify if they are infected with other virus variants.

According to the government, the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines from the global vaccine sharing scheme Covax Facility may be arriving by mid-February, with the initial shipment of 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be given to healthcare workers in select hospitals.

Globally, there are a total of 106 million Covid-19 cases, according to the Covid-19 dashboard of the Johns Hopkins University. Of this number, 2.3 million are deaths and 59 million are recoveries, which leaves over 44 million active cases worldwide.

KGA