PH records 1,997 new COVID-19 cases; positivity rate still low

FILE – Residents of Imus Cavite avail of the free COVID-19 antigen tests offered by the OVP’s Swab Cab initiative. PHOTO BY JAY GANZON / OVP

MANILA, Philippines — The number of active COVID-19 cases in the country remains below 30,000 as the Department of Health (DOH) reported only 1,997 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.

According to the agency’s bulletin, the 29,382 active COVID-19 cases comprise one percent of the 2,815,080 total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.

Of the active cases, 63.6 percent are mild, 5.6 percent are asymptomatic, 16.34 are moderate, 10.1 percent are severe, and 4.3 percent are critical.

Meanwhile, the DOH also reported 1,696 recoveries and 238 more deaths. These brought the total recoveries to 2,740,426 and fatalities to 45,272.

The DOH said 4.5 percent of 45,964 individuals who were tested were found positive for coronavirus on Thursday. This positivity rate is within the five-percent benchmark recommended by the World Health Organization for sufficient testing.

All testing laboratories were able to submit their data on time, according to the health department.

On hospital occupancy, 36 percent of intensive care unit beds, 30 percent of isolation beds, 23 percent of ward beds, and 21 percent of ventilators are currently being used.

The DOH meanwhile removed 32 duplicates from the total case count and reclassified 216 recoveries as deaths after final validation.

/MUF