THE Department of Health (DOH) logged 889 new COVID-19 infections today, more than double from yesterday’s 421 count, according to the DOH COVID-19 Case Bulletin issued today, December 29, 2021.
This is also the highest number of cases recorded by the DOH in more than a month.
With this, the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country is now at 2,839,790 cases.
The DOH noted that the number of cases is expected to increase due to the holiday-related mobility and reduced compliance to minimum public health standards. The agency is continuously monitoring the situation, but cannot say with certainty that the increase in cases may be due to the Omicron variant, and again urged the public and local government units to ensure safety protocols are implemented and every Filipino is vaccinated.
Active cases, on the other hand, registered a 10,418 count today, higher than yesterday’s 9,750 cases. Active cases are patients undergoing treatment in government hospitals and temporary quarantine facilities.
Recoveries from COVID-19 today, meanwhile, went down further to 214 cases from yesterday’s 248 count. Overall, COVID-19 recoveries in the country have reached a total of 2,778,131 cases.
As for COVID-19 fatalities, it went up to 28 from yesterday’s low of two to bring the total COVID-19 deaths to 51,241.
Positivity rate today, meanwhile, almost doubled to 4.5 percent from yesterday’s 2.6 percent while 27,615 people were tested.
However, 47.2 percent of the cases were mild and asymptomatic, the DOH bulletin noted.
A total of 16 duplicates were removed from the total case count, wherein 13 were recoveries.
Also, about 194 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count. Of the total 194 cases, 193 were tagged as recoveries.
However, 25 cases tagged earlier as recoveries were reclassified as deaths upon final validation.
There were two laboratories that did not operate on December 27, 2021. There was also one laboratory that failed to submit data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS). Based on data in the last 14 days, the three non-reporting laboratories contribute, on average, 0.4 percent of samples tested and zero 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.