FROM 10,775 new infections last Wednesday, new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases jumped to 17,220 yesterday while active cases also spiked to 56,561, according to the Department of Health.
In its latest bulletin, the DOH said the sudden surge past the 17K mark was the first since last September 27, when 18,449 new infections were reported.
Overall, COVID cases in the country rose to 2,888,917 while the death toll climbed to 51,743, counting the 81 additional deaths yesterday, for a case fatality rate of 1.79 percent.
The current positivity rate in the Philippines stood at 36.9 percent among the 59,847 tested samples on January 4.
From 39,974 last Wednesday, active cases jumped to 56,561, with over 49,900 mild cases and 2,900 moderate cases.
The DOH also reported 616 more recoveries, bringing the number of survivors to 2,780,613. The DOH said the recovery rate stood at 96.3 percent.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is currently in isolation after being exposed recently to a COVID-19-positive individual.
Puyat said in her Facebook post that she has been inoculated and boosted against the deadly virus. She added she will continue to work from home until she gets her medical clearance on the 10th day of quarantine.
Fifteen members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) tested positive for the deadly virus and are currently under quarantine and undergoing treatment.
PSG Commander Col. Randolph Cabangbang said President Duterte has not been exposed to the 15, who are all fully vaccinated, as they are not part of his close-in security detail.
Cabangbang said no one has been exposed to the 15 yet as all of them came from the holiday break and were required to undergo seven-day quarantine upon their return, followed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests on their seventh day as per protocols. He said the results, which came out positive, were released three days ago.
Cabangbang said the 15 would again be tested once they have completed their quarantine and treatment. He said the infected PSG members would only be allowed to report back to active duty once they are negative for the deadly virus.
The PNP reported 295 new cases of COVID-19 in its ranks, nearly triple the 100 infections the previous day, pushing active cases in the PNP to 552, reports from the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame showed.
The active cases include PNP chief Dionardo Carlos, his aide and his driver, who recently tested positive for the disease.
A total of 42,645 PNP personnel have been infected by COVID-19 since March 2020, with 41,968 having recovered, 125 dead, and 552 still active cases.
As of yesterday, 215,375 or 95.57 percent of the PNP strength have been fully vaccinated and 8,456 others or 3.75 percent of PNP personnel have received the first dose of two-dose vaccines.
This means that 1,523 or 0.68 percent of PNP men have yet to be vaccinated. Of the unvaccinated, 639 have “valid reasons” while 884 have none.
Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas said the active cases in the province stood at 629 as of Wednesday, from just 57 before Christmas.
The Department of Justice main office in Manila has recorded 21 new COVID-19 cases among its employees.
In 2021, the DOJ said 94 of its employees in the main office were infected with the virus.
No new deaths have been recorded so far.
Outside of the DOJ main office, only Regions IV, III and I have reported COVID-19 cases this year. Region IV reported seven new cases and 10 in region III while region 1 recorded a single case.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there will be a reduction of workers on-site to prevent the further transmission of the virus. — With Jocelyn Montemayor, Victor Reyes, Edison Gonzales, and Ashzel Hachero
