The positivity rate or percentage of persons who tested positive rose again after dropping for three consecutive days.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) — The country logged 11,085 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, bringing the tally to 1,776,495, excluding data from nine laboratories, the Department of Health reported.
“The relatively low number of cases today is due to lower laboratory output last Monday,” the department noted.
The DOH case bulletin counted 105,151 active cases or currently sick patients, comprising 5.9% of the case total. At least 96% of active cases have mild symptoms, 1.3% have severe symptoms, 1% are asymptomatic, 0.91% are in moderate condition and 0.7% are in critical condition.
The death toll climbed to 30,623 — which is 1.72% of the case tally — after 161 more people lost their lives to the disease. Meanwhile, 11,628 others recovered, raising the survivor count to 1,640,721 or 92.4% of the COVID-19 total.
The DOH said it reclassified 74 survivors into fatalities after validation and deleted 265 duplicate cases, including 259 recoveries.
The nine laboratories that failed to submit their reports on time contributed an average of 3.9% of samples tested and 5.6% of positive individuals in the last 14 days, the DOH added.
From 22% based on tests on August 15, the rate is now 23.4% based on 46,644 tests reported on August 16.
The figure is at a critical level, which means the country needs to test more people for the coronavirus, according to experts.
US nonprofit Covid Act Now, which OCTA researchers use as basis for their projections, says there is adequate testing in an area when the positivity rate is below 3%.
The World Health Organization says the percentage should be below 5% to indicate that the infection is under control.
Amid the rise in cases, the DOH recommended the use of surgical masks instead of cloth masks for those who have access to them.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also suggested high-efficiency particulate or HEPA filter, which is an air purifier, and protective physical barriers in areas where it is impossible to maintain physical distance, as well as disinfection and reuse of N95 mask in case of supply shortage.
The DOH is also advising the public against ionizing air filters, foot baths, misting tents, disinfection chambers, and UV lamps, except for those used in clinics or hospitals, to prevent or control the spread of COVID-19, Vergeire added.
