MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 cases in the country breached the four million mark on Friday.
This came after the Department of Health reported 1,551 new infections, bringing the caseload to 4,000,783.
Of the said caseload, 21,685 are active cases, 3,915,139 were recoveries, and 63,959 were deaths, the DOH also said.
The nationwide positivity rate is at 13.8 percent, far from the World Health Organization’s five-percent benchmark.
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 as the country lifted the mask mandate outdoors.
READ: It’s official: Wearing masks indoors, outdoors now voluntary
Aside from the lifting of the 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