Philippines logs 3,045 new COVID-19 cases, highest daily rise since mid-October

MANILA, Philippines — Days after starting its vaccination campaign, the Philippines recorded 3,045 new coronavirus infections Friday—the highest single day rise since mid-October—pushing the country’s caseload to 587,704.

Of the total recorded cases, 40,074 or 6.8% are active, latest data from the Department of Health showed. Majority or 95.3% of these are mild and asymptomatic cases.

The department also recorded 178 new recoveries, bringing to 535,207 the total number of COVID-19 survivors.

Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 12,423 after 19 more patients succumbed to the disease.

What’s new today?

• The Philippines recorded the highest number of daily cases since October 16, when the country had 3,139 additional cases. 
• The DOH announced the detection of a total of 83 additional cases of the transmissible coronavirus variants first seen in the United Kingdom. Of these, 52 were found to have the variant first identified in South Africa, while 31 tested positive for the variant that originated in the UK. The agency also announced the detection of 42 cases “with mutations of potential clinical significance.”
• The government may begin distributing 487,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine obtained through the COVAX facility to different hospitals nationwide late Friday, Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said.
• The Food and Drug Administration reminded the public that “online selling of all types of FDA certified COVID-19 test kits (RT-PCR, antibody, antigen based) is strictly prohibited.”
• The Department of Foreign Affairs reported 23 new COVID-19 cases, 13 new recoveries and no new deaths among Filipinos abroad. 

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