A TOTAL of 1,754 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were reported by the Department of Health yesterday, continuing a trend of over 1,450 cases over the weekend, while 35 more patients succumbed to the deadly virus.
Overall, the total number of infections in the country rose to 459,789, counting the 2,122 cases reported last Friday and 1,491 last Saturday, while the number of deaths rose to 8,947, including 25 last Friday and 36 last Saturday for a case fatality rate of 1.95 percent.
In its latest bulletin, the DOH said Quezon City had the highest number of new cases at 163, followed by Rizal 104, Benguet 83, Laguna 83, and Bulacan 61.
The number of survivors rose to 429,134 counting yesterday’s 8,080 recoveries, Friday’s 778 and Saturday’s 436.
The DOH said this means that 93.3 percent of COVID patients had recovered.
Minus the deaths and recoveries, the DOH said there are 21,708 active cases, accounting for 4.7 percent of COVID cases in the country.
Of the active cases, 81.3 percent are mild cases, 8.7 percent are asymptomatic cases, 6.4 percent are critical cases, 3.2 percent are severe cases, and 0.37 percent are moderate cases.
The number of overseas Filipino workers infected with the deadly virus climbed to 12,627 after four more were sickened by the virus yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The number of fatalities also increased to 866 after three new deaths were recorded in the Americas.
There was only one recovery, bringing the number of survivors to 8,127.
Of the 12,627 COVID-19 cases among overseas Filipinos, 7,626 were recorded in the Middle East and African regions, followed by 2,634 in the Asia Pacific region, 1, 586 in Europe and 781 in the Americas.
The Middle East and African regions also led in terms of deaths among members of the overseas Filipino community, having recorded 553 followed by the Americas with 195, Europe with 97 and 21 in the Asia Pacific region.
Despite the pessimism and depression caused by the pandemic and community lockdowns, the DOH insisted the year 2020 wasn’t a wasted year.
In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they disagree with public perception that the year has been wasted, with majority of Filipinos affected by lockdown for several months due to the health crisis.
“We don’t agree that the year was wasted because of COVID-19 and the lockdown,” Vergeire said, adding the lockdowns enabled the government to save as much lives as possible.
“Many lives were saved because of the community restrictions. If we didn’t do that, we would have had more deaths in the country. We might have had the health system overwhelmed,” she said.
“These community quarantines and restrictions helped us save lives, and prevent more infections. They tremendously helped our country in this response,” Vergeire added. — With Ashzel Hachero
