PH reports 2,067 new Covid-19 cases; total cases now 580,442

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Tuesday an additional 2,067 Covid-19 cases, bringing the total coronavirus infections in the country to 580,442.

Based on the DOH case bulletin, the active cases of Covid-19 in the country now stands at 33,610.

Meanwhile, 144 more patients have recovered from the disease, pushing the number of Covid-19 survivors to 534,463.

There were also additional 47 patients who have died. The total death toll is now at 12,369.

According to DOH, the active cases represent 5.8 percent of the total case count, while recoveries and deaths are 92.1 and 2.13 percent of the tally, respectively.

Of the active cases, 89.8 percent are mild, 4.8 percent are asymptomatic, 2.3 percent are critical, 2.2 percent are severe, and 0.85 percent are moderate cases.

The DOH said six duplicate entries, including two recoveries, were removed from the caseload.

Thirty cases that were previously reported as recovered were also reclassified as deaths after validation.

Eight laboratories were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the health department reported six cases of the South African variant (B.1.351) and 30 new cases of the United Kingdom variant (B.1.1.7) of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Experts earlier said both variants appear to be more contagious.

It was the first time that the DOH confirmed the detection of the South African variant of the virus in the country.

Of the six South African variant cases, three are those reported as residents of Pasay City and two are returning overseas Filipinos, while the location of the other one is still being verified.

“While there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease, the pattern of mutations within this variant suggests higher transmissibility and may have an impact on vaccine efficacy,” the DOH said of the B.1.351 variant.

JE