Philippines welcomes 2021 with 1,765 new COVID-19 cases
MANILA, Philippine — Health authorities reported 1,765 additional coronavirus infections Friday, pushing the total to 475,820 as Filipinos welcomed the new year under the shadow of a health crisis that has disrupted lives and the economy.
Latest figure from the Department of Health showed that Davao City had the most number of new cases with 100. It was followed by Rizal with 99, Cavite with 71, Quezon City with 70 and Manila City with 69.
The number of recoveries rose to 439,895 after 106 more coronavirus patients got well. Total recoveries accounted for 92.4% of the country’s confirmed cases.
But four more people succumbed to the respiratory disease, bringing the country’s death toll to 9,248.
Of the total confirmed cases, 26,677 or 5.6% are considered active or those still undergoing treatment and quarantine.
Filipinos welcomed 2021 under varying forms of lockdown, with Metro Manila and nine other areas placed under general community quarantine until the end of the month.
The rest of the country, meanwhile, will be under the more lenient modified GCQ.
In his New Year message, President Rodrigo Duterte expressed hope that the country will see “brighter days” ahead, thanks to the “indomitable spirit of Filipinos.”
The Philippines has the second worst outbreak in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia’s over 743,000 cases. The government is anticipating a spike in coronavirus infections after the holiday season due to increased mobility.
The country reported its first COVID-19 case on January 30, 2020: a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan in China, where the virus first appeared in late 2019. Her companion, a 44-year-old man, was the first confirmed fatality outside China.
The government is aiming to inoculate 24.7 million Filipinos in the first part of the vaccination program against COVID-19 this year.
Globally, the new coronavirus has infected 83.4 million individuals, with over 1.8 million deaths.
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