DOH: 19,536 new COVID-19 cases logged from July 18-24

The Philippines recorded a total of 19,536 new COVID-19 cases from July 18 to July 24, 2022, around 33% higher than the cases reported the previous week, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

Based on DOH’s weekly COVID-19 case bulletin, the daily case average for the week increased to 2,791 from the 2,091 recorded from July 11 to July 17. There were 14,640 COVID-19 infections reported the past week.

A total of 42 additional verified COVID-19-related deaths were also recorded by the DOH.

Of these deaths, one occurred in October 2021, 13 in August 2021, nine in July 2021, nine in June 2021, nine in May 2021, and one in April 2021.

Data also showed that 666 severe and critical cases are currently admitted in hospitals due to the viral disease as of July 24, Sunday.

Of the 2,664 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 578 or 21.7% are occupied. Meanwhile, 5,804 or 26% of the 22,331 non-ICU COVID-19 beds are in use.

Of the new cases recorded in the recent covered period, there were 56 individuals tagged new severe or critical cases. This was 0.29% of the new cases reported for the week, according to DOH.

Independent monitoring group OCTA Research on Monday said that the COVID-19 positivity rate of the National Capital Region (NCR) remained at around 14%.

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

Vaccination updates

A total of 71,546,355 individuals or 91.61% of the government’s target population are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, based on the data.

Of this number, 223,507 were vaccinated from July 18 to July 24.

Meanwhile, at least 6.7 million senior citizens or 77.87% of the target A2 population have also received their primary vaccine series.

The DOH also noted that 15,934,251 individuals have received their booster shots. Of which, 341,718 were boosted in the same period.

As part of the government’s plan to curb the COVID-19 infections in the country, the Department of Health (DOH), along with the local government units, is set to launch on July 26 a campaign that aims to administer booster shots to 50% of the country's eligible population in the next three months.

This campaign also aims to vaccinate 90% of the target senior-citizen population group within the same period.

2,778 new cases

Meanwhile, the DOH recorded 2,778 new COVID-19 infections based on the latest data posted on the Health Department's website on Monday.

This brought the nationwide tally to 3,755,403, while the country’s active case tally climbed to 27,625 from 27,116 on Sunday.

Among the top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region (NCR) with 12,440, followed by Calabarzon with 7,876, Central Luzon with 3,600, Western Visayas with 2,501, and Central Visayas with 1,414.

Both the recovery and death toll increased with 3,667,084 patients recovered from the viral disease, while the number of deaths rose to 60,694.

Bed occupancy in the country was at 25% with 7,247 beds occupied, while 21,765 were vacant as of July 23.

The DOH said a total of 16,981 individuals were tested, while 303 testing labs submitted data as of July 24. — RSJ, GMA News