COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surpass 498,000

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health reported Saturday 2,058 new COVID-19 infections, pushing the total number of cases to 498,691.

Of these, 28,674 or 5.7% of the total are active cases, the DOH said.

The DOH also reported eight new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 9,884.

According to the DOH, 406 more recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors to 460,133.

Where most cases were reported

• Cavite, (MGCQ) – 96 cases
• Rizal (MGCQ) – 96 cases
• Leyte, (MGCQ) – 92 cases
• Quezon City, (GCQ) – 85 cases
• Mountain Province, (MGCQ) – 84 cases

What's new today?

• Today saw the highest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases in four weeks. This is the second consecutive day that the daily tally of new cases breached the 2,000-mark.
• The Department of the Interior and Local Government will only be rehiring 30% of the 50,000 contact tracers whose contracts ended last year, citing limited budget for the crucial job of identifying contacts of coronavirus patients.
• The Philippines is banning foreign travelers from the United Arab Emirates and Hungary from January 17 until the end of the month over the new coronavirus variant which is feared to be more infectious. The Philippines’ first case of the new variant traveled from the UAE.
• Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez told a Senate inquiry that the government can opt to back out from the purchase of 25 million coronavirus shots from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. amid mounting concerns about the vaccine’s price and efficacy.

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