THE Department of Health (DOH) today logged 562 new COVID-19 infections, higher than yesterday’s 370 count, according to the DOH COVID-19 Case Bulletin issued today, December 9, 2021.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country to 2,835,996 cases.
Active cases, on the other hand, registered a 12,169 count today, still lower than yesterday’s 12,510 count. Active cases are patients undergoing treatment in government hospitals and temporary quarantine facilities.
Recoveries from COVID-19 today, meanwhile, went up slightly to 882 from yesterday’s 859 count. Overall, COVID-19 recoveries in the country have reached a total of 2,773,891 cases.
The DOH also recorded 176 fatalities today, up slightly from yesterday’s 171 count to bring the total COVID-19 deaths even closer to the 50k-mark with 49,936.
Positivity rate today, meanwhile, remained at 1.6 percent based on 33,295 people who were tested.
Around 46.7 percent of the cases were mild and asymptomatic, the DOH bulletin noted.
A total of 14 duplicates were removed from the total case count, where 12 were recoveries and one is a death.
Also, about 145 cases were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count, and 145 were recoveries.
However, 157 cases earlier tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths upon final validation.
Two laboratories were not operational on December 7, 2021 while zero 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 two laboratories contribute, on average, 0 percent of samples tested and 0 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.