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.
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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