THE Department of Health (DOH) today logged 603 new COVID-19 infections today, higher than yesterday’s 517 count, according to the DOH COVID-19 Case Bulletin issued today, December 5, 2021.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country to 2,834,775 cases.
Active cases, on the other hand, went down further to 13,853 cases today from yesterday’s 14,338 count. Active cases are patients undergoing treatment in government hospitals and temporary quarantine facilities.
Recoveries from COVID-19 today, meanwhile, slid to 1,047 compared to yesterday’s 1,139 count. Overall, COVID-19 recoveries in the country have reached a total of 2,771,536 cases.
The DOH listed 156 fatalities today compared to yesterday’s 243 as total COVID-19 deaths continue to inch closer to the 50-thousand level at 49,386.
Positivity rate today, meanwhile, remained at 1.8 percent based on 35,950 people who were tested.
Around 49.1 percent of the cases were mild and asymptomatic, the DOH bulletin noted.
A total of six duplicates were removed from the total case count and of these, six were recoveries.
Also, about 116 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count. The 116 were recoveries.
However, 115 cases earlier tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths upon final validation.
Two laboratories were not operational on December 3, 2021 while four laboratories were not able to submit its data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS). Based on data in the last 14 days, the six laboratories contribute, on average, 0.9 percent of samples tested and 1.3 percent of positive individuals.
The agency continues to remind the public not to become complacent and continue to be vigilant against the threat of COVID-19 and make it a habit to follow the minimum public health standards and to always wear face masks, and also face shields whenever necessary, maintain physical distancing and washing of hands. The DOH also reiterates that the safety of the country is everyone’s responsibility, and that by helping each other, the country will overcome this COVID-19 pandemic.