Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 3) — New COVID-19 cases nationwide reached 4,084 on Monday, with the total jumping to 2,855,819, the Department of Health announced.
This is lower than Sunday’s 4,600 cases, breaking a six-day streak of new infections being higher than the previous day’s count.
However, the DOH clarified 21 testing laboratories failed to submit their latest data while two were closed on Jan. 1. Based on figures over the past two weeks, the 23 laboratories contributed an average of 5.1% of all samples tested and 5.2% of all positive cases.
Around 99% or 4,057 of the newly reported cases were detected within the last 14 days, the department said. It listed the top contributing regions as Metro Manila with 2,831, Calabarzon with 571, and Central Luzon with 273.
Its bulletin also showed 24,992 or 0.9% of the total number of infected are currently ill. Of these active cases, 795 are asymptomatic; 19,252 are mild; 3,051 are moderate; 1,563 are severe; and 331 are critical.
Meanwhile, 16 more fatalities were confirmed, including eleven that occurred in December, three in October, and one each in September and August. This pushed the death toll to 51,856.
The number of survivors also rose to 2,779,241 after 497 more have beaten the disease.
After final validation, the DOH said it reclassified as deaths 16 cases mistakenly reported as recoveries. Additionally, 18 duplicate entries were removed from its overall data, along with 178 cases found to have tested negative.
The department further detailed that 18,587 COVID-19 tests were reported on Jan. 1, with 20.7% yielding a positive result. This means one in five people tested for COVID-19 turned out infected.
According to US nonprofit Covid Act Now, the positivity rate should be below 3% to show there is adequate testing and that transmission has been controlled.
