Weekly COVID cases in Philippines over 1,000

THE PHILIPPINES continued to post more than a thousand weekly coronavirus infections, with 145 daily cases on average on Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, according to the Department of Health (DoH).

There were 1,012 COVID-19 cases in the past week, it said in a bulletin on Monday. The daily average from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 was 16% lower than a week earlier.

There were no severe and critical cases, it added.

DoH said it had verified 85 more deaths in the past week, 11 of which occurred on Jan. 23 to Feb. 5.

It added that 288 of 2,030 intensive care unit (ICU) beds had been used as of Feb. 5, while 3,449 of 17,627 non-ICU beds were occupied. There were 388 severe and critical admissions.

The agency said 73.85 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, 21.39 million of whom had booster shots.

“Cases are likely to remain low given that there is no surge in the rest of the world,” Fredegusto P. David, a fellow at OCTA Research Group, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “But a new variant could cause a wave anytime.”

In its weekly report published on Feb. 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) said globally, almost 20 million new cases were reported on Jan. 2 to 29, 78% lower than in the past 28 days.

More than 114,000 more deaths were reported during the period, 65% higher than a month earlier.

As of Jan. 29, more than 753 million people have been sickened by the coronavirus worldwide, with 6.8 million deaths, WHO said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza