Philippines logs 37,154 new COVID-19 cases; active infections at 287,856

The Department of Health on Sunday reported 37,154 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the Philippines' caseload to 3,205,396.

Active infections reached 287,856 of which 9,212 are asymptomatic; 273,924 are mild; 1,475 are severe; and 305 are in critical condition.

Of the cases reported today, the DOH said 36,303 or 98% occurred within the recent 14 days from January 3 to January 16, 2022.

The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region with 15,591 or 43%, Region IV-A with 8,384 or 23%, and Region III with 3,232 or 9%.

Total recoveries also rose to 2,864,633 after 30,037 more patients recovered from the illness.

The death toll climbed to 52,907 with 50 new fatalities.

Of the 50 deaths, the DOH said 30 occurred in January 2022, one in November 2021, one in October 2021, 12 in September 2021, three in August 2021, two in July 2021, and one in June 2021. This was due to the late encoding of death information to its system.

Meanwhile, the country's positivity rate was at 47.4%. The total conducted COVID-19 tests were 81,381.

The DOH noted that 137 duplicates were removed from the total case count, while 27 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

The DOH said all laboratories were operational on January 14, while 12 labs were not able to submit their data.

The latest data from the DOH also showed that 49% of the country’s intensive care unit beds were utilized, while 21% of the mechanical ventilators were also in use.

In Metro Manila, 57% of the ICU beds were utilized, while 28% of the ventilators were in use. — DVM, GMA News