MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases over the past week, with the Department of Health reporting 1,721 new cases on Monday.
This brings the country’s total number of coronavirus infections to 4,081,818 since the pandemic began in 2020.
The average daily infection rate for the past week was 246, 33% higher than the previous week’s average. Of the new cases, 13 were considered severe or critical, according to the Department of Health’s latest bulletin.
COVID-19 admissions in severe and critical conditions increased by 13% compared to the prior week. The utilization rate of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients was 13.7%, while the non-ICU bed utilization rate was 16.5%.
The DOH also verified 58 COVID-related fatalities during the past week, 3% lower than the previous week’s 60 deaths. Note that these deaths occurred in different months. The DOH cited the late encoding of death information as the reason for the delayed reporting.
On a positive note, more than 79.1 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the National COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard. Additionally, 24.1 million people have received their first booster shot, while 4.3 million have received their second booster shot.
As the country continues to battle the pandemic, health officials remind everyone to follow the minimum health protocols and get vaccinated to help prevent the spread of the virus.
News source: ABS-CBN News