FOR the second straight day, less than 1,000 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases were reported by the Department of Health but 193 more lost their battle against the deadly virus as the toll surged to the 48K mark.
In its latest advisory, the DOH said total infections in the country rose to 2,829,618, counting the 975 new cases yesterday, while the death toll climbed to 47,875 for a case fatality rate of 1.69.
The positivity rate in the country stood at 2.8 percent out of the 38,961 tests conducted last November 23.
Active cases dipped slightly to 17,796 from 17,864 last Wednesday, with 52.7 percent mild cases, 21.4 percent moderate cases, 14.4 percent severe cases, 6 percent critical cases, and 5.4 percent asymptomatic cases. Active cases account for 0.6 percent of COVID cases in the country.
The DOH also reported 1,029 more recoveries, raising the number of survivors to 2,763,947. This means that 97.7 percent of COVID patients in the country have recovered.
Deviating from the statement of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III last Wednesday, the DOH said it is still premature for the Philippines to look at declaring the pandemic in the country as being under control.
In an online press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said more assessment and evaluation are needed before the country can say that it has contained COVID-19.
“We can’t definitely say that (it is already under control). There are still many uncertainties happening in the country,” said Vergeire. “We still need further assessment, further studies, further evaluation because a lot of things are very uncertain at this point.”
She noted that the country has experienced a drop in COVID-19 cases in the past only to see another wave of infection.
“We have already experienced in the past that we were able to bring the cases down. But after some time, cases went up anew. So, we will really need a longer period to assess and evaluate what’s happening,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire issued the statement a day after Duque said the DOH will ask the World Health Organization if the downtrend in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines would warrant a declaration that the pandemic in the country is now under control or contained.
The nationwide risk classification is currently “low” with a negative 49 percent two-week growth rate, and moderate average daily attack rate of 1.55 cases per 100,000 population.
Out of 121 provinces, highly-urbanized cities, and independent component cities in the country, DOH data shows that 108 areas are under Alert Level 2; 12 areas under Alert Level 3; and one area under Alert Level 4.
