New COVID-19 cases back up to over 1k, PHL tally at over 472k

?The Philippines’ tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases rose to 472,532 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,014 new infections as seven laboratories failed to submit data on time.

The number of new cases rose to over 1,000 after three days.

Quezon City reported the highest number of new cases on Wednesday with 67, followed by Benguet with 57, Makati with 48, Bulacan with 44, and Laguna with 40.

According to the DOH, 518 more patients have recovered from the illness, bringing the total to 439,509, while the death toll rose to 9,230 with new 68 fatalities.

Eight duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count while 21 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as a death.

Of the remaining 23,793 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 79.7 percent are mild, 11 percent are asymptomatic, 3.1 percent are severe, and 5.7 percent are in critical condition.

Data from the DOH also showed that 61 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available while 79 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday said the emergence of a new coronavirus variant in the Philippines was inevitable but the Filipinos are not defenseless against COVID-19

The country has imposed a travel ban on the United Kingdom and 19 other countries which recorded a new variant of the coronavirus. It will be in effect from December 30, 2020 to January 15, 2021.

Meanwhile, more than 81.46 million people have been reported to have been infected by the COVID-19 globally and 1,779,597 have died. -NB, GMA News