MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health reported 1,888 new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Sunday, February 21, bringing the number of total cases to 561,169.
Of the total caseload, 26,238 or 4.7% are still classified as active cases, or patients who have neither passed away nor recovered and are still in hospitals and quarantine facilities.
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The department in its latest case bulletin also reported 20 new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 12,088 or 2.15% of total cases.
Exactly 522,843 have so far recovered after the DOH added 9,737 more recoveries, good for a 93.2% recovery rate.
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Health authorities confirmed Sunday 18 more cases of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant in the Philippines, bringing the total B.1.1.7 variant cases in the country to 62 since it was first recorded in the country on January 7.
- President Rodrigo Duterte is set to decide on new quarantine status on Monday evening. The Metro Manila Council and the government’s pandemic task force and economic managers have all voted to recommend further easing restrictions to modified general community quarantine, the loosest quarantine designation possible. Healthcare collectives have already warned against such a shift.
- The Department of the Interior and Local Government claimed in a statement that a nationwide shift to MGCQ would address the fragmented travel restrictions imposed by local governments across the country.
- Vice President Leni Robredo also opposed a possible shift to MGCQ on her radio show Sunday, citing the added risks of coronavirus transmission.
- Globally, 111 million coronavirus cases have been recorded, leading to over 2.4 million deaths according to latest data from the World Health Organization.
- It has been 341 days since community quarantines were first imposed. The Philippines is still under the world's longest quarantine.