New HIV cases drop in third quarter

The number of people who tested positive for HIV returned to prepandemic levels in September, though total cases recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) in the third quarter remained fewer than last year’s. Data from the DOH’s epidemiology bureau showed that there were 1,219 new HIV infections in September, or eight cases fewer than February’s and higher than the average 1,064 monthly cases in 2019. The figure, however, represents 65 percent of the total cases recorded in the third quarter as the DOH saw new infections drop to 133 in August, the lowest since November 2010 when there were 112 cases. —Jovic Yee