Philippines reports record 37,207 new COVID-19 cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Friday reported 37,207 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day tally since the start of the pandemic.

Friday’s tally beat the previous record of 34,021 cases logged on Thursday.

The additional infections brought the country’s total caseload to 3,129,512. Of the figure, 265,509 are currently sick.

The death toll rose to 52,815 after 81 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 9,027 to 2,811,188.

According to the Department of Health, 98% of the additional cases occurred from January 1 to January 14. The regions with the most number of infections in the recent two weeks were Metro Manila (46%), Calabarzon (23%) and Central Luzon (11%).

The positivity rate was 47.3% out of 81,737 tests. The rate was way above the 5-percent threshold of the World Health Organization for opening economies.

Eight laboratories did not submit data to the DOH.

Metro Manila stays under Alert Level 3

• Metro Manila will remain under Alert Level 3 until the end of January. Fifty-four other areas will also be placed under Alert Level 3.
• The government’s pandemic task force has allowed the entry of Filipinos coming from “red list” territories.
• The initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children aged five to 11 is set in the first week of February.
• DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said the agency will soon launch a COVID-19 home care kit for COVID-19 patients.

— Gaea Katreena Cabico