PH’s COVID-19 cases top 700,000 as DOH reports 9,838 new infections

FILE PHOTO: A large computer monitor at the command center of PureForce and Rescue Operation Corp. in Santa Cruz, Manila, shows the COVID-19 hot spots in the Philippines as of March 18, 2021. INQUIRER FILE/RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ COVID-19 cases propelled to 702,856 on Friday as health authorities reported a fresh daily-high of 9,838 infections.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) also showed that nationwide active cases are now at their highest – 109,018 – since the first case of the new coronavirus disease was detected in the Philippines in January last year.

Meanwhile, 663 more COVID-positive patients have recovered, raising the tally to 580,689, while fatalities rose to 13,149 with the death of 54.

According to DOH, the latest number of active cases take 15.5 percent of the total COVID-19 caseload in the country while the tally of recovered patients and fatalities are now at 82.6 percent and 1.87 percent, respectively.

It also said that 98.1 percent of active cases were asymptomatic patients and those with mild symptoms.

DOH further noted that 29 duplicate entries, including 14 recovered patients, and a case that was later found to have tested negative from SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, were removed from the total case count.

Likewise, DOH said 22 cases that were previously tagged as recovered patients were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

Seven laboratories were not able to submit data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System on Thursday, it added.

Also on Friday, DOH explained that the positivity rate for 32,069 individuals who were tested for COVID-19 is at 17.3 percent. Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who test positive out of the total number of persons who have been tested for the new coronavirus.

Case bulletin dated March 1 showed that the positivity rate for 14,142 people who have been tested for the virus is at 7.5 percent, equivalent to 1,063 individuals. In the February 1 bulletin, 4.4 percent or 1,046 of the 23,521 who were tested have yielded positive results for SARS-CoV-2. And on January 1, 7.2 percent or 769 of the 10,710 people who were tested were detected to have the virus.

In the wake of the rapid surge in COVID-19 cases, the government recently placed Metro Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, and Laguna under general community quarantine – and called it the “NCR Plus bubble” – from March 22 to April 4 in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

KGA