185 new COVID-19 infections detected in Bicol; cases doubling every two days

FILE PHOTO: Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), also known as novel coronavirus, isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/Handout via REUTERS.

LEGAZPI CITY — The number of new coronavirus cases in the Bicol region has been doubling every two days, reports from the Department of Health (DOH) in the region showed.

On Thursday, 185 fresh cases of COVID-19 were detected in the region with a positivity rate of 27.25 percent, a new high record for the region over the last 67 days, according to records of the DOH Bicol.

On Monday, the region recorded 41 new cases, which more than doubled to 92 fresh infections the following day.

On Wednesday, the number of daily cases hit a two-month high with 124 new cases.

Most of the fresh cases were recorded from Camarines Sur, where 69 new cases were reported. In Naga City, which is also in Camarines Sur, 35 new cases were recorded.

The province of Albay recorded nine new cases, but its capital Legazpi City recorded 16 new cases.

In the province of Camarines Norte, 19 new cases were recorded; in Sorsogon province, 17; and in the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, five and two new cases, respectively, were recorded.

Ten fresh infections were also listed in Bicol, but they were not residents of the region. The DOH did not provide a breakdown of where the other cases were from.

It was not clear if any of the new cases were of the Omicron variant, but in an online press briefing on Thursday, regional epidemiologist Dr. Aurora Teresa Daluro said that nine of the close contacts of the teacher in Tigaon town of Camarines Sur who was infected with the Omicron variant also tested positive for COVID-19.

She said they were still awaiting genomic sequencing to determine if any of the cases were Omicron as well.

The Bicol region currently has 2,209 active cases, 3.72 percent of which were either in severe or critical conditions.