PH posts 1,854 new COVID-19 infections, active cases rise to 16,482

The Philippines on Thursday registered 1,854 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the active cases to 16,482.

It's the second straight day of increasing cases after the DOH logged 1,593 new cases on Wednesday, according to GMA Research. It's also the 14th straight day active cases have topped 15,000.

Meanwhile, the new cases brought the country’s caseload to 4,133,644.

Earlier, the DOH also reported seventeen additional cases of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 or “Arcturus” based on its latest biosurveillance report. This brought the total Arcturus caseload to 28.

In the recent two weeks, the National Capital Region (NCR) reported the most number of infections with 9,293, followed by Calabarzon with 5,586, Central Luzon with 2,179, Western Visayas with 1,474, and Bicol Region with 895.

Meanwhile, the country’s recovery tally also reached 4,050,696, while the death toll remained at 66,466.

The DOH said a total of 8,343 individuals were tested, while 319 testing laboratories submitted data as of Wednesday.

The bed occupancy, meanwhile, stood at 22.2%, with at least 5,680 beds occupied and 19,926 vacant. —Richa Noriega/ VAL, GMA Integrated News