Philippines logs 8,564 new COVID-19 cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Friday registered 8,564 new COVID-19 cases, the fourth consecutive day the daily tally fell below 10,000.

Friday’s tally brought the total number of COVID-19 infections to 3,594,002. Of the figure, 151,389 were active cases.

According to the Department of Health, 77% of the newly-reported cases occurred from January 22 to February 4. The regions with the highest number of additional infections during that period were Metro Manila (907), Western Visayas (782) and Davao region (753).

The country’s death toll rose by 46 to 54,214, while recoveries increased by 10,474 to 3,388,399.

The agency said that 24.3% of 37,932 samples on February 2 tested positive for COVID-19, way above the five-percent threshold set by the World Health Organization.

Six testing laboratories did not submit data to the agency.

New travel protocols

• Malacañang outlined new testing and quarantine protocols for inbound Filipono travelers and foreign nationals.
• Since March 2021, 59.3 million people have completed vaccination against COVID-19. Over 7.7 million individuals have received booster shot.