MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines posted 1,891 additional COVID-19 cases in the past week, with a daily average of 270 infections, the Department of Health reported on Monday.
The daily average from January 16 to 22 decreased by 35% from a week earlier, the DOH said in a bulletin. Of the new cases, only four were severe and critical.
There were 432 patients with severe and critical conditions, which accounted for 9.4% of the country’s total COVID-19 admissions.
Data from the health department showed that only 16.1% of 2,299 beds in intensive care units were used as of Sunday, while only 19.1% of 18,410 non-ICU beds were occupied.
The DOH also verified 104 fatalities in the past week. Only seven of those deaths occurred in the last two weeks.
OCTA Research fellow on Monday said the COVID-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila has decreased to 2.4% from 3.7%. Based on the recommendation of the World Health Organization, the proportion of COVID-19 tests coming back positive should be below 5% to ensure that the spread of the virus is under control.
The Philippines has confirmed over 4 million COVID-19 cases, with over 65,000 deaths, since the pandemic began in early 2020. There were around 10,000 active cases.
The latest DOH data also showed that over 73.8 million people—or 94.5% of the target population—were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, only 21.2 million individuals received boosters. — Gaea Katreena Cabico