COVID-19 cases in Philippines rise to 496,646 with 2,048 new infections

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s coronavirus caseload rose to 496,646 Friday after 2,048 additional infections were added to the tally.

The number of cases stands at 27,033 or 5.4% of the nation’s confirmed cases, latest data from the Department of Health showed.

The DOH also announced 551 additional recovered patients, pushing total recoveries to 459,737.

Meanwhile, 137 more patients died from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 9,876.  

Where were most cases reported?

• Bulacan (modified general community quarantine) – 98
• Davao City (GCQ) – 89
• Pangasinan (MGCQ) – 84
• City of Manila (GCQ) – 80
• Leyte (MGCQ) – 73

What’s new today?

• This is the second time in 2021 that the country tallied more than 2,000 additional cases. On January 11, Monday, the DOH registered 2,052 additional infections.
• Malacañang announced Friday that the government extended for another two weeks the ban on foreign travelers coming from 32 countries, including the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the United States. The United Arab Emirates, where the Philippines’ first case of the new COVID-19 variant traveled from prior to testing positive, is not included in the list.
• Sen. Panfilo Lacson said vaccine czar Carlito Galvez is making conflicting statements on the prices of the COVID-19 vaccines being acquired by the government amid concerns that the country is being less effective shots at a higher cost.  
• The Department of Health said the contacts of the Filipino with the more contagious variant may face fines or imprisonment if they fail to cooperate with authorities

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