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MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday that 1,772 more people were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases to 30,876.
This was the first time in two days that new COVID-19 cases fell below 2,000.
At least 153 more people recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of survivors to 348,967.
But 49 more people succumbed to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 7,318.
With the additional 1,772 cases, the country’s total COVID-19 cases has reached 387,161, of which 90.1 percent have already recovered, 1.89 percent have died and 8 percent are still fighting the coronavirus.
Of the 30,876 active cases, the DOH said 82.5 percent had mild symptoms, 10 percent had no symptoms, 2.7 percent had severe symptoms, and 4.8 percent were in critical condition.
The province of Pampanga registered the highest number of new infections with 154, followed by Quezon City (115), Laguna (83), Baguio City (70) and Manila 69.
The DOH said that of the 14,019 people who were the last to get tested for COVID-19, 1,016 tested positive, meaning a positivity rate of 7.2 percent. This was higher than the 6 percent positivity rate recorded on Monday.
In Malacanang, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque defended President Duterte’s appointment of Secretary Carlito Gálvez, who is the main executor of the government’s COVID 19 strategy, as the new vaccine czar.
Roque said that distributing a COVID 19 vaccine to all Filipinos would be more of a massive logistics venture than a medical challenge, hence the president’s decision to appoint a retired general to the task.
The vaccine would have to be imported and stored properly before being distributed throughout the country, Roque said.
“So it is more of a logistical challenge than a medical challenge,” he told a news conference.
The vaccine czar must have managerial skills and must be well versed in management processes, he said.
Gálvez said planning vaccine distribution was similar to preparing for a national election, which required tapping multiple resources and a comprehensive government approach.
He has drawn up a roadmap for this that he would present to the president for approval this week, he said.
He explained that it would continue to be the Department of Health and the panel of vaccine experts that would be responsible for the scientific evaluation and selection of the COVID 19 vaccine to be used in the Philippines.
But Gálvez said that he would be the one to arrange for its acquisition, storage, distribution and implementation.
DOH remains the lead response agency regarding the pandemic, while it would implement its vaccine policy, he said.
As a vaccine czar, he would be the “gatekeeper or integrator or synchronizer of all agencies,” he said.
The army and police would provide the manpower for distribution of the vaccine, he said.
But Gálvez said local government units would play a key role in the vaccination campaign.
They would be the ones to convince people to get vaccinated, for example, he said.
They would also collect the information necessary for the vaccination campaign, including identifying those who should be given priority, he said.
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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