COVID-19 cases also rising in 4 regions outside Metro Manila
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Wednesday it has observed spikes in coronavirus infections in regions outside Metro Manila as it urged local governments to accelerate vaccination.
Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Ilocos region and Cagayan Valley are seeing increase in cases, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
"That is why I call upon the regional directors of DOH, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the local government units in these areas to ramp up more aggressively the vaccination of their citizens," he said in the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
Authorities are struggling to contain a steep rise in infections, which is spurred by increased mobility during the holiday season and the presence of the hyper-transmissible Omicron variant.
The DOH on Tuesday registered 28,007 additional COVID-19 cases, lower than the record-high of 33,169 cases on Monday. Duque said it is premature to say the country has reached the peak of its COVID-19 surge after reporting a slight dip in its daily case tally.
Most of the cases reported on Tuesday are results from tests conducted on Sunday when some laboratories are closed.
"We might still be in the acceleration phase of our surge… We are doing our best to contain this at the soonest possible time," Duque said.
According to initial projections of the DOH, the surge in cases might peak by the end of January.
The Philippines has logged over three million COVID-19 infections since the pandemic started. Of the total, 181,016 are active cases.
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