Coronavirus cases in the Philippines climb to 511,679 with 1,797 new infections

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Saturday logged 1,797 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the national caseload to 511,679.

Of the total number of cases recorded, the DOH has marked 33,603— or 6.6% — as active.

Another 166 people were reported to have beat the virus, bringing total recoveries to 467,886.

But the death toll hit 10,190 after 54 more fatalities were logged by the DOH.

Highest case tallies of the day

• Davao City -151 
• Quezon City - 90 
• Rizal - 80 
• Isabela - 64
• Bulacan - 62 

New today

• Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom, where the variant first emerged, said there is now evidence that the variant could be more deadly as well as more transmissible.
• The health department said it detected 16 more cases of a more infectious coronavirus variant in the Philippines. Two of the patients, it said, have no known contact with any COVID-19 patient and no travel history outside the country.
• DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Alethea De Guzman revealed that the new variant had been in the country for over a month before the first case of the mutation was reported by the agency.
• The Quezon City government announced that the girlfriend and mother of the Philippines’ first case of the variant tested negative for the mutated virus.
• President Rodrigo Duterte told troops during a speech that he wants to inoculate the military, the police and their families for free. 
• Navotas City will not be purchasing China's Sinovac vaccine, mayor Toby Tiangco said, in line with the preference of its people for three other brands —Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna — shown in an informal survey. 

— Bella Perez-Rubio with reports from Xave Gregorio and Agence France-Presse

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