1,196 new COVID-19 cases push Philippines' tally over 464,000

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 464,004 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,196 new infections as eight laboratories failed to submit data on time.

Quezon City registered the highest number of new cases at 123, followed by Rizal with 84, Manila with 74, Davao City with 54, and Batangas with 49.

Recoveries now total 429,972 after 564 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease, while the death toll climbed to 9,048 with 27 new fatalities.

There are also 24,984 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine.

Meanwhile, the Philippines will temporarily ban entry to travelers from the United Kingdom from December 24 to 31 after a new strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was discovered there. 

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the new strain is 0.4 percent more transmissible but it is yet to be proven whether it makes COVID-19 more severe. 

British drugmaker AstraZeneca said its vaccine should be effective against the new strain, while Pfizer’s partner, BioNTech, and Moderna are rushing to test their vaccines against the new variant. 

COVID-19 has so far claimed over 1.7 million lives and infected more than 77.5 million across the globe. —LDF, GMA News