DOH: COVID-19 cases up by 82% in past week
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Monday that the number of COVID-19 infections recorded from June 13 to 19 was 82% higher than the cases reported from a week before.
The DOH tallied 3,051 additional cases, or 436 infections per day. This was a significant increase from 1,682 cases logged from June 6 to 12.
Of the new cases, 15 had severe and critical illness.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the agency’s spokesperson, earlier said that the continuous rise in cases, especially in Metro Manila, indicates the “start of the peak” in the number of infections.
The capital region, which will remain under the lowest COVID-19 alert level, is seeing a “rapid and sharp increase” in cases.
The DOH is also monitoring the uptick in cases in Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.
The presence of more transmissible Omicron subvariants, increased mobility, and the waning COVID-19 vaccine immunity of the public are fueling the rise in cases, authorities said.
Healthcare utilization
There are currently 554 severe and critical admissions, which represent 10.2% of total COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the archipelago.
Data from the DOH showed that 14.6% of 2,636 beds in intensive care units have been occupied, while 18.2% of 22,156 non-ICU beds have been used.
Last week, the health agency said that the rise in cases did not translate to high severe and critical hospital admissions. Stricter quarantine restrictions would only be implemented if the spike in cases leads to increased hospital admissions
The DOH also reported that six deaths were verified in the past week.
Since March 2021, over 70 million Filipinos have completed vaccination against COVID-19. However, only 14.8 million out of the eligible 55 million recipients have gotten boosters.
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