FROM 28,471 last Tuesday, new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country dropped to 22,958 yesterday, sparking hopes the deadly virus is finally slowing down.
In its latest bulletin, the Department of Health said total infections rose to 3,293,625 while the death toll breached the grim 53K mark with 82 additional deaths, raising the number of fatalities to 53,044.
The current positivity rate in the country stood at 43.5 percent among the 62,531 tested samples on January 17.
Active cases also dipped to 270,728 from 284,458 last Tuesday, with over 257,000 mild cases and more than 8,300 asymptomatic cases.
The DOH also reported 36,611 additional recoveries, raising the number of survivors to 2,969,853.
A police staff sergeant from Nueva Ecija has died of COVID-19, bringing to 126 the number of PNP personnel who have succumbed to the virus.
This was the first time the PNP recorded a COVID death since November 10 last year when the police force announced the death of a Bicol policeman due to the virus.
The latest fatality, assigned at the Jaen municipal police station in Nueva Ecija, lost consciousness on January 13 while on the way to a hospital for dialysis due to a chronic kidney disease.
“He was then rushed to (the) Nueva Ecija Medical Center and was diagnosed with stroke and declared brain dead. Laboratory tests also revealed that he was positive for COVID19,” said PNP chief Dionardo Carlos.
The 38-year-old policeman died at around 3:35 p.m. on January 14.
Administrative Support for COVID-19 Task Force Lt. Gen. Joselito Vera Cruz said the cop received the second dose of the Sinovac vaccine on July 12 last year.
“Yes, he is vaccinated but with comorbidities,” said Cruz.
Cruz said there has been a surge of COVID-19 cases in the PNP over the past weeks but added many of the infected personnel “are asymptomatic to mild cases,” attributing this to the high vaccination rate in the PNP.
The PNP said 217,034 of its personnel or 96.33 percent of the police force have been fully vaccinated while 7,173 others or 3.18 percent has received the first dose of two-dose vaccines.
The PNP reported that 323 more policemen were infected with the virus, pushing the active cases to 3,615.
The PNP has recorded 46,291 COVID-19 cases among its personnel since March 2020 with 42,550 recoveries, 126 deaths, and 3,615 still active cases. — With Victor Reyes
