Philippines sees increase in COVID-19 cases; average up 36%

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health reported 1,821 additional COVID-19 cases from December 5 to 11, surpassing the previous week’s count.

In a bulletin released Tuesday, the DOH said an average of 260 cases were recorded daily in the past week, marking a 36% increase compared to the infections logged from November 28 to December 4.

Thirteen of the new COVID-19 patients had severe and critical illnesses. 

Latest DOH data showed there were 228 people in severe and critical conditions, constituting 9.6% of the country’s total COVID-19 admissions. 

The Philippines had 3,876 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday. More than 4 million Filipinos have recovered from COVID-19 since the pandemic started in 2020. 

According to the health department, only 13.6% of the 1,298 beds in intensive care units were utilized, and 16.5% of the 11,111 non-ICU beds were occupied.

The DOH also verified 13 deaths in the past week, six of which occurred in the last two weeks. The death toll from COVID-19 in the country reached 66,779.

More than 78.4 million Filipinos have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations. However, only 23.8 million have gotten booster shots.

The rise in COVID-19 infections comes as cases of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) begin to slow down. The DOH said last week that ILI cases will continue to decline in the coming weeks, but may increase by January.