(FILE) LOOK: President Rodrigo Duterte met with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) members to provide updates on the government’s ongoing efforts against COVID-19 at the Heroes Hall, Malacañang Palace on September 15, 2021. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III presents. Image from Facebook / PCOO
MANILA, Philippines — Ninety-two percent of provinces and cities in the country are at a high-risk level for COVID-19, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
During a taped meeting of Cabinet officials with President Rodrigo Duterte aired on Thursday, Duque said that 111 out of 121 provinces, highly-urbanized cities, and independent component cities in the country are currently at high-risk classification for COVID-19.
“Patuloy na tumataas ang mga kaso sa bansa kung saan nasa high risk level ang 92 percent ng ating mga lokalidad,” Duque said in his report to Duterte.
(The number of cases in the country continues to increase and 92 percent of our localities are under the high-risk level.)
Meanwhile, Duque also noted that the daily average of deaths for the first two weeks of September was 83.
He said there is an urgent call to augment health systems capacity, decongest hospitals, and ensure strong triage and referral systems in health facilities.
Based on DOH data as of Tuesday, 12 of the 17 regions in the Philippines are classified as high risk for the disease as the country battles a surge of coronavirus cases due to the community spread of the Delta variant.
These are Metro Manila, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Davao Region, Ilocos Region, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, Western Visayas, Soccsksargen, and Zamboanga Peninsula.
The country has 170,446 active cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, with the highest single-day increase logged on Saturday at 26,303 new infections.