Philippines logs 370 new COVID-19 infections

The country on Wednesday registered 370 new COVID-19 cases, raising the country's total caseload to 2,835,593.

The new infections brought the country's active case count to 12,510, of which 4,974 are mild, 883 are asymptomatic, 2,261 are severe, and 476 are in critical condition.

According to the DOH, the new cases account for 1.6% of the 28,942 tests conducted on December 6.

Total recoveries climbed by 861 to 2,773,322, while the death toll rose to 49,761 with 171 new fatalities.

The DOH noted that of the 171 reported deaths, six occurred in December 2021, while 19% of the reported deaths occurred in November 2021 due to late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya.

The DOH also said 27 duplicates were removed, while 95 cases found to have tested negative have been removed from the total case count.

Further, 150 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

The DOH said two laboratories were not operational on December 6, while five laboratories were not able to submit their data.

Latest data from the DOH also showed that 24% of the country’s intensive care unit beds are utilized, while 14% of the mechanical ventilators are also in use.

In Metro Manila, 24% of the ICU beds are utilized, while 16% of the ventilators are in use. — BM, GMA News