DOH logs 1,682 new COVID-19 cases in past week; daily average up 30.4%

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines recorded an average of 240 cases from June 6 to 12, a 30.4% increase from a week before, the Department of Health said Monday.

According to DOH’s latest weekly bulletin, a total of 1,682 additional cases were logged last week. Of those, eight had severe and critical illness.

There are currently 498 severe and critical admissions, which represent 12.9% of total COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

Data from the DOH showed that 16.6% of 2,078 beds in intensive care units nationwide have been occupied, while 20.3% of 15,706 non-ICU beds have been used.

In a message to reporters, the agency said that continued increases in COVID-19 cases might lead to the escalation of alert levels.

“As long as the admissions and severity of cases in the hospitals do not affect our healthcare utilization rate, Alert Level 1 is still in effect,” it said as it reminded the public to continue following health protocols and get protected through vaccination and boosters.

Most parts of the country, including Metro Manila, are under Alert Level 1.

The DOH also verified five deaths during the past week.

The Philippines has confirmed over 3.69 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 60,461 deaths.

More than 69 million Filipinos — or 77.51% of the target population — have completed vaccination against COVID-19. Of the figure, only 14.5 million individuals have gotten booster doses.