PH records over 18,000 new COVID-19 cases for 2nd straight day

FILE PHOTO: Health workers in hazmat suits walk outside the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital in Manila, Philippines. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines recorded 18,638 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, which brought the current active cases of the infectious disease to 231,658.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), there were also 13,106 more recoveries and 68 additional deaths due to COVID-19 complications.

This was the second straight day that the country reported over 18,000 new cases. On Thursday, the additional cases were at 18,191.

The country has so far confirmed 3,511,491 cases of COVID-19, which also include 3,226,032 recoveries and 53,801 deaths.

The DOH posted a positivity rate of 34.6 percent out of 62,671 tests conducted on Wednesday. This is slightly slower than the 35.2 percent positivity rate from 61,013 tests on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, of the active cases, 97.9 percent are mild or asymptomatic. According to DOH, 7,055 are asymptomatic cases, 219,811 are classified as mild, 2,971 are moderate, 1,509 are severe, and 312 are critical.

Forty-nine percent of intensive care unit and isolation beds, 51 percent of ward beds and 24 percent of ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the country are currently in use. In Metro Manila, 42 percent of ICU beds, 39 percent of isolation beds, 45 percent of ward beds, and 24 percent of ventilators are being used.

The DOH has been observing a decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and the NCR Plus. In the capital region, cases decreased by 67 percent, from an average of 4,398 new COVID-19 cases in the last seven days, compared to 13,298 new cases in the preceding week.

However, COVID-19 cases are increasing in parts of Visayas and Mindanao, according to DOH.

EDV