Philippines reports 7,103 COVID-19 cases; highest daily increase ever

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines recorded Friday the highest daily COVID-19 count the country has seen since the start of the pandemic with 7,103 infections, bringing the total caseload to 648,066.

• Active cases: 73,264 or 11.3% of the total
   
• Recoveries: 390, pushing total to 561,902
   
• Deaths: 13, bringing total to 12,900

What’s new today?

• A year into the pandemic, the Department of Health recorded the biggest single-day tally ever. Friday’s count surpassed the highest single-day rise last year: 6,958 cases on August 10.
   
• The department also registered the highest number of active cases since August 29, when there were 74,611 active infections. 
   
• The operations of driving schools, traditional cinemas, arcades, libraries, archives, museums and cultural centers in areas under general community quarantine will be suspended for two weeks as COVID-19 cases spike.
   
• The venue capacity of dine-in restaurants, cafes and establishments offering personal care services will be lowered to 50%. Religious gatherings will also be limited to 30-percent venue capacity.
   
• The government revised its rules on suspension of entry into the Philippines and allowed all Filipinos, including those who are not migrant workers, to return to the country. Meanwhile, entry of most foreign nationals will be suspended from March 22 to April 21.
   
• World Health Organization country representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said the current surge in infections is influenced by vaccine optimism that led to decreased compliance with health protocols and circulation of more transmissible variants.
   
• The country’s Food and Drug Administration approved Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, for emergency use.
   
• The government secured 20 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in a tripartite deal with American company and the private sector.
   
• President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation to utilize all onhand AstraZeneca jabs as first dose to frontline healthcare workers.
   
• FDA said that Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac needs to prove its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for the elderly before the jab can be administered to them.

— Gaea Katreena Cabico