Philippines posts 398 COVID-19 new deaths

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 398 new deaths from COVID-19 were confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday, almost surpassing the biggest one-day death toll from the pandemic of 401 last April 9.

The latest DOH tally raised to 31,596 the total of COVID-19 fatalities.

Also, new COVID-19 cases reported yesterday reached 16,694, bringing the national caseload to 1,824,051.

A total of 15,805 new recoveries were logged, bringing the nationwide total to 1,668,520 people who have beaten the disease.

Still, there are 123,935 active cases which represent 6.8 percent of the total caseload.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said at a public briefing that focus should not be on the cumulative number of cases, but the increasing number of active cases or those who have yet to recover from the infection.

“This is where the government is focusing on now so that (patients) can still be accommodated in different facilities,” she said.

Vergeire said the public can expect a continuing rise in cases amid the spread of the more contagious variants of COVID-19 like the Delta strain, so everyone is called to prepare for it.

She maintained that lockdowns implemented in high-risk areas hardly make a “dent” because the transmission of the virus continues amid “modifications” that allow mobility of people.

‘Not faring better’

OCTA Research Group said it may take several weeks before we see a decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

While the infection rate in Metro Manila slowed down over the past weeks, OCTA fellow Guido David said the worse it not yet over, given the high number of new cases in recent days.

“To clarify, we are not faring better at this time. The situation will get worse before it gets better. Hospitals will continue to be full for some time until case numbers subside,” he said on Twitter.

“The trend has improved even though we are seeing higher numbers. The growth rate will decrease before cases start to decrease,” he added.

The growth rate refers to the average number of new cases compared with the preceding week.

David said the growth rate two weeks ago was at 78 percent and this went down to 51 percent last week and to 28 percent this week.

“But the growth rate is still positive, which means new cases are still increasing,” he added.

In an interview with dzRH radio, David said the situation in Metro Manila may improve by the first or second week of September, although he warned that the situation is unstable at present.

Last Friday, the DOH reported 17,231 new cases, a new record-high since the start of the pandemic last year.

David noted that yesterday’s 398 deaths is high, putting the seven-day average at 218 deaths per day.