Infections rise to 892,880; 162 more die
THE independent OCTA Research Team yesterday said the case fatality rate in Metro Manila from COVID-19 has sharply risen to 5.4 percent as of last Tuesday from last month, adding deaths are mostly among the elderly.
Case fatality rate (CFR) means the proportion of deaths from a disease compared to the total number of people diagnosed with the disease for a particular period.
“The CFR due to COVID-19 in the NCR from March 28 to April 13, 2021 is 5.36 percent, which is nearly three times higher compared to the CFR of 1.82 percent from March 1, 2020 to March 27, 2021,” OCTA said.
Comparing the CFR before and after March 28, 2021, OCTA said there was an increase from 11.8 percent to 28.6 percent for the 65 and up age group, from 5.7 percent to 16.4 percent for the 60 to 64 age group, and from 2.7 percent to 8.7 percent for the 50 to 59 age group.
The firm said the surge could be attributed to inadequate COVID-19 hospital beds.
“The reasons for the increase in CFR may be due to an overwhelmed hospital care system,” OCTA said, adding: “Seniors should be given priority to healthcare access to be assured they receive timely interventions.”
The firm also said that seniors should strongly consider getting inoculated while strictly adhering to public health protocols.
The DOH said 162 more died from the deadly virus yesterday, raising the death toll to 8,122 for a nationwide case fatality rate of 1.73 percent.
For the second straight day, just more than 8,000 new cases were reported but the DOH tempered public expectations of a slowdown, saying it was just an “artificial decrease” because 12 laboratories failed to submit their data.
Last Tuesday, the DOH reported 8,571 new infections, down from the average of 11,000 last week, but attributed this to the failure of nine laboratories failing to submit their data and 36 laboratories stopping testing operations last Sunday.
In its latest bulletin, the DOH said total infections rose to 892,880, inching closer to the grim mark of 900,000.
There were 501 more recoveries, meaning the number of survivors has risen to 704,386 but there remained 173,047 active cases, accounting for 19.4 percent of COVID cases in the country.
Of the active cases, 96.3 percent are mild cases, 2.4 percent are asymptomatic cases, 0.5 percent are severe cases, 0.4 percent are critical cases, and 0.31 percent are moderate cases.
After the largest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases among overseas Filipinos on Tuesday with 889 cases, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported only four new cases yesterday and no new fatalities.
The number of overseas Filipinos infected with the deadly virus rose to 18,005 while the death toll remained at 1, 113.
There were four new recoveries, bringing the number of survivors to 11,042.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo extended the closure of all courts in the National Capital Region and other areas covered by the modified enhanced community quarantine from April 18 to April 30.
Also covered by the administrative circular issued yesterday afternoon were the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Abra, Quirino and Santiago City in Isabela.
Gesmundo said the courts in other areas under localized ECQ and MECQ “shall likewise be physically closed for the duration of such ECQ and MECQ.” But he said courts in these areas will conduct hearings via videoconferencing.
A policeman from the National Capital Region Police Office is the latest or the 47th cop to die from COVID-19, according to the PNP.
The 40-year-old staff sergeant died Tuesday at a hospital in Marikina City.
PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said the policeman had fever and body ache on March 21 but did not report his condition to his unit and did not go to a quarantine facility.
The following day, the policeman had difficulty breathing, had cough, cold and diarrhea, said Usana.
“He made an online consultation with a private physician and was advised to take azithromycin for three days. Instead of reporting to the quarantine facility, he opted to buy his own oxygen for home use and continued self-medicating,” said Usana. — With Ashzel Hachero and Victor Reyes
