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The number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines reached 467,601 on Friday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,885 new infections, as 15 laboratories did not submit data in time.
Quezon City had the highest number of new cases with 130, followed by Bulacan with 122, Davao City with 99, Rizal with 78 and Leyte with 63.
Total recoveries also rose to 430,791 after 307 more patients recovered from respiratory illness, while the death toll rose to 9,062 with seven new deaths.
DOH noted that seven duplicates were removed from the total case count.
There are also 27,748 active cases in treatment or quarantine.
Earlier, an expert from the OCTA research group said that the increase in infections during the holidays would become more evident in the first two weeks of January next year due to the incubation period of the virus, which could take up to 14 days.
Previously, researchers raised the alarm about the start of a new surge in COVID-19 cases in the capital region in the middle of the Christmas season.
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Philippine Council for the Development of Health Research, Jaime Montoya, said that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may be the first to be implemented in the country if the negotiations prove fruitful.
The Philippines has so far secured 2.6 million doses of the vaccine from British drugmaker AstraZeneca to be paid for by the private sector, while the procurement of an additional 30 million doses could end next week.
On Friday, the Palace said that President Rodrigo Duterte will meet with the government’s COVID-19 task force and infectious disease experts on Saturday to address the new strain of coronavirus that emerged in the UK. -MDM, GMA News
