DOH: COVID-19 cases spiked 13% during Holy Week
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health reported Monday that COVID-19 cases in the country spiked by 13% during Holy Week in a continuation of an upward trend of infections in the last three weeks.
The DOH said in a case bulletin that it logged 1,944 cases from Holy Monday, April 3, to Easter Sunday, April 9, with 17 of these cases classified as severe and critical.
Meanwhile, 30 deaths were verified in the past week but none of them occurred from March 27 to April 9.
Hospital bed utilization remained relatively low with 16.5% non-ICU beds in use and 14.8% ICU beds in use.
Private think tank OCTA Research Group reported earlier in the day that the seven-day positivity rate in Metro Manila has increased to 6.5% from 4.4% as of April 8.
The positivity rate is a ratio of people who tested positive for COVID-19 out of all the tests conducted within a given period of time, which a 2021 study suggested could be an indicator for the spread of the disease.
The Philippines saw a 29% uptick in cases the week before Holy Week, although the Department of Health downplayed this as "insignificant" citing the low hospital utilization rates. — Xave Gregorio
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