Philippines logs 5,979 new COVID-19 cases; tally hits 1,149,925

The Philippines’ tally of COVID-19 cases reached 1,149,925 on Monday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 5,979 new infections.

Total recoveries also hit 1,076,428 after 6,602 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.

The death toll climbed to 19,262 with 72 new fatalities.

These figures brought the number of active cases to 54,235, 93.3% of which are mild, 2% are asymptomatic, 2% are severe, 1.4% are in critical condition, and 1.25% are moderate.

The DOH said all laboratories were operational on May 15 while five failed to submit data on time.

“Based on data in the last 14 days, the five non-reporting labs contribute, on average, 0.7% of samples tested and 1.0% of positive individuals,” it said.

The agency also said 17 duplicates were removed from the total tally of infections and 31 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after validation.

Meanwhile, the government now aims to inoculate 58 million people living in COVID-19 hotspots in a bid to achieve herd immunity. 

Malacañang identified these hotspots as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, and Rizal.

The “expansion areas” include Regions 1 to 13, the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Baguio, Zamboanga, Bacolod, Iloilo, General Santos, and Iligan.

Local chief executives have also been bumped up to vaccination priority group A1.5. 

The vaccination of some mayors in March had caused controversy as they were not yet included in the priority sectors for COVID-19 inoculation at the time. 

The Philippines has only vaccinated over 2.2 million individuals as of May 15, more than half of whom are health workers while the rest are senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, and essential workers.—LDF, GMA News