1,797 new COVID-19 infections push Philippines’ total to over 511,000

The Philippines’ tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases rose to 511,679 on Saturday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 1,797 new infections as four laboratories failed to submit data on time.

According to the DOH, Davao reported the highest number of new cases with 151, followed by Quezon City with 90, Rizal with 80, Isabela with 64, and Bulacan with 62.

The DOH also reported that 166 more patients have recovered from the illness, bringing the total to 467,886, while 54 new fatalities brought the nation’s death toll to 10,190.

Five duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count.

At present, there are 33,603 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine in the Philippines. Among this, 82.6 percent are mild, 11 percent are asymptomatic, 2.2 percent are severe, and 3.8 percent are in critical condition.

Data also showed that 59 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available while 78 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use.

On Friday night, the DOH announced that the UK variant of the COVID-19 has been detected in 16 more cases in the country, 12 of which were from Bontoc, bringing the total to 17.

The Health Department said that of the 16, 13 are still active cases.

Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Quezon City resident who first tested positive for the UK variant has yielded a negative result based on his latest swab test.

His mother and girlfriend, who also earlier tested positive for the UK variant, tested negative on Friday.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine earlier said that despite the additional 16 cases of the UK variant, declaring there is already community transmission of the more transmissible variant in the country is still premature. -MDM, GMA News