Philippines records 1,997 new COVID-19 cases; active cases at 29,382

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday recorded 1,997 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the nationwide tally to 2,815,080.

The Health Department said that active cases stood at 29,382.

Of these cases, 63.6% were mild, 5.6% were asymptomatic, 16.34% were moderate, 10.1% were severe, and 4.3% were in critical condition.

The Philippines' COVID-19 positivity rate was at 4.5%, which was within the World Health Organization's requirement of less than 5%. Total conducted COVID-19 tests were at 45,964.

Total recoveries climbed by 1,696 to 2,740,426 while 238 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 45,272.

Data also showed that 36% of 3,800 intensive care unit (ICU) beds for COVID-19 patients nationwide were in use.

At least 23% of the 13,600 ward beds in the country were utilized, while 25% of the 4,000 ward beds in the National Capital Region (NCR) were in use.

Based on the latest report, the DOH said all laboratories were operational since November 11, while all laboratories were able to submit data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System.

The DOH reported 32 duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 29 are recoveries and one death.

Meanwhile, at least 216 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation. — DVM, GMA News