PH hits new record high with 39K new COVID-19 infections, over 280K active cases
CNN Philippines – For the third straight day, the country reached new record highs in its single-day tally of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and number of currently sick people.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday announced 39,004 new infections, raising the total to 3,168,379.
Active cases also hit a new all-time high of 280,813 – which is 8.9 percent of the COVID-19 count.
The DOH said 98 percent or 38,271 of the newly confirmed cases were detected within the last 14 days.
Metro Manila remains the top contributing region with 18,142, followed by Calabarzon with 9,172, and Central Luzon with 3,325.
Among the active cases, 267,185 are considered mild; 8,928 have no symptoms; 2,925 are moderate; 1,472 are severe; and 303 are critical, according to the DOH.
The country’s positivity rate – or percentage of tested people who yielded positive results – was slightly down at 47.1 percent based on 78,774 tests reported on January 13.
A rate of above 20 percent is “critical” while below 3 percent indicates there is adequate testing, according to US nonprofit Covid Act Now. The World Health Organization suggests a positivity rate of below 5 percent for an area that has controlled the infection.
Meanwhile, the death toll climbed to 52,858 – or 1.67 percent of the case count – after 43 more people lost their lives to the disease.
