DOH reports most COVID-19 cases since February

MANILA, Philippines — The spike in daily COVID-19 infections was sustained for three straight days before breaching the 4,000 mark on Friday, the first time in more than five months.

According to the COVID-19 tracker of the Department of Health (DOH), the country logged 4,127 new cases on Friday, the highest since Feb. 10 when daily infections were pegged at 4,575.

The number of new cases brought the total active infections to 32,637, the highest since April 5, or more than three months.

But on Saturday, the DOH maintained that the country is still at a low level of risk for COVID-19 transmission, with an average daily attack rate (Adar) of 2.52 per 100,000 population. It also cited bed and intensive care unit occupancy rates, which are at 29 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

According to Guido David of OCTA Research, the latest caseload was above the pandemic monitor’s projection of 3,400 cases for the day.

Latest OCTA monitoring of positivity rates in various areas also showed a continued upswing. As of July 27, 10 areas had “high risk” positivity rate, or the number of people confirmed to be infected with the virus, the highest of which was in Capiz province at 48.8 percent.

This was followed by the provinces of Aklan and Tarlac, both at 33.1 percent; Isabela at 31.7 percent; and Laguna at 30.6 percent. Metro Manila had a positivity rate of 14.5 percent.

In response to claims of “underreporting” of cases, DOH said in a separate statement that it is “confident in the accuracy of reporting of cases and surveillance of units.”

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