MANILA, Philippines — The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country is nearing the 4 million mark.
The Department of Health (DOH)’s COVID-19 tracker said the total number of new coronavirus infections is now at 3,999,226 after 1,379 new cases were reported on Thursday.
The caseload includes 21,215 active cases and 3,914,090 recoveries.
There were also 38 additional deaths, which brought the death toll to 63,921.
The nationwide positivity rate is at 12.5 percent, far from the World Health Organization’s benchmark of five percent.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire has made a projection of up to 18,000 new COVID-19 cases daily towards November and December if the country lifts the mask mandate indoors.
Aside from the relaxed mask mandate, the local transmission of the Omicron XBB subvariant and XBC variant could be a factor in case increase as well, according to Vergeire.
READ: DOH reports local transmission of Omicron XBB subvariant, XBC variant