Philippine COVID cases hit record
Coronavirus infections in the Philippines hit听another record听on Friday at听37,207, as the country struggles听to contain a听fresh surge in听cases spurred by the听highly mutated听Omicron variant.听
This brought the total to 3.13 million, while the death toll increased by 81 to 52,815, the Department of Health (DoH) said in a bulletin. Recoveries rose by 9,027 to 2.81million听
President Rodrigo R. Duterte kept the alert level for Manila, the capital and nearby cities at No.听3 until Jan. 31,听his spokesman听Karlo Alexei B. Nograles听told a news听briefing.听
The agency said听47.3% of 81,737 samples on Jan. 12 tested positive for听the听coronavirus, way above the 5% threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO).听
Of听the听active听265,509 cases on Friday, 8,325 did not show symptoms, 252,502 were mild, 2,913 were moderate, 1,469 severe and 300 were critical.听
DoH said 98% of听the infections听occurred from Jan. 1 to Jan. 14. The top regions with new cases in the past two weeks were Metro Manila with 16,824, Calabarzon with 8,580 and Central Luzon with 4,052 infections. It added that 26% of deaths occurred in January,听6% in December听and听17% in October.听
It听said 104 duplicates had been removed from the tally,听67听of which听were reclassified as recoveries and two were tagged as deaths. Fifty-eight听recoveries were relisted as deaths. Eight laboratories failed to submit data on Jan. 12.听
The Health department听said 46% of intensive care unit beds in the country had been used, while the rate for Metro Manila was 55%.听
Mr.听Nograles听said听Metro Manila听would remain under Alert Level 3听because its healthcare听use听had听not hit 71%, the threshold required for Alert Level 4.听鈥淲e听are avoiding Alert Level 4 because that would mean that our healthcare utilization rate is high.鈥听
New infections in Metro Manila were not听accompanied by听a rise in severe COVID-19 cases and deaths likely due to听the region鈥檚听high vaccination rate,听Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire听told听the same briefing. Omicron was also milder than other early variants, she added.听
鈥淲e听saw a phenomenon called decoupling in the National Capital Region,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his is when a rise in cases does not translate to a rise in the number of people who get hospitalized from severe or critical illness and death.鈥听
OCTA听Research听Group听fellow Fredegusto P. David said Metro Manila鈥檚 virus reproduction number had听fallen听to 3.77 on Jan 10 from 6.12听a week earlier.听
鈥淲e are not out of the woods yet, and data in the next few days will clarify the trends,鈥 he said in a report posted on Twitter. 鈥淓fforts from the public must be sustained so that the National Capital Region鈥檚听(NCR) new case reports will start decreasing.鈥听
The听government earlier placed 28 other areas under Alert Level 3 starting Friday.听Alert听Level 3听bars听face-to-face classes for basic education unless approved by the government.听
Meanwhile,听Mr. Nograles said the government has placed Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Canada, Curacao, French Guiana, Iceland, Malta, Mayotte, Mozambique, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Spain and US Virgin Islands under the country鈥檚 travel red听list from Jan. 16 to 31.听Foreign travelers from these territories will be barred entry, he said.听
On the other hand,听Filipinos from red-listed听or high-risk countries听may now come home via commercial flights and not just through听so-called Bayanihan flights, he said.听
Also on Friday, the Supreme Court rescheduled the 2020/2021 bar exams听to Feb. 4 and 6听from听Jan. 23 and 25.听
鈥淕iven the current infection rate and quarantine situation of听bar personnel, 16 of the 31 teams that will be deployed will be critically understaffed if the current schedule were maintained,鈥 it听said in a statement. 鈥斕Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza听
