The Philippines on Friday logged 3,389 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily tally in more than five months or since Feb. 12.
Of the additional infections, 1,169 are from Metro Manila, the Department of Health said.
The total number of active infections increased to 24,478, the highest tally since April 13.
Fifteen new fatalities were reported, raising the country’s COVID-19 death toll to 60,656.
The DOH earlier detected 910 more cases of highly transmissible omicron subvariants BA.5, BA.4, and BA.2.12.1. All regions except Bangsamoro have logged a case of the omicron BA.5, DOH officer-in-charge and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
The COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose slightly to 14.6 percent on July 20, from 14 percent five days earlier, the independent OCTA Research Group also said Friday.
“It is not clear yet what is driving this change in trends. It is also not clear at this time when the peak will be reached in the NCR,” said OCTA fellow Guido David.
Two weeks ago, David said the COVID-19 wave in Metro Manila could already be close to peaking following the decrease in the weekly growth rate.
In a tweet 10 days ago, David said it is possible the COVID-19 wave in the region could have peaked already, citing the decrease in the growth rate from 57% on July 4 to 32% on July 11.
The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.
The NCR has so far registered 11,112 new cases in the past two weeks, the Health Department said on Thursday.
“Cases are now rising in many parts of the country. The new subvariants are immune evasive. We strongly advise the public to observe caution,” David said.
But in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, David said vaccines remain effective against the virus, as shown by the country’s low number of severe and critical cases.
“That’s the good news… Even if the variants have immune evasion, the vaccines remain effective because we have a low number of severe cases. You will not die, you will not get hospitalized,” David said in Filipino.
David also urged the public to get their booster shots as the immunity offered by the vaccine wanes over time.
Of the 3.74 million people in the country who have contracted the disease since the pandemic began, some 3.65 million have recovered, DOH data showed.
From July 17 to 20, the positivity rate rose to 13 percent. This is well over the World Health Organization’s 5 percent limit, indicating the spread of the coronavirus is not under control.
The latest data from the DOH showed that booster shot administration has plateaued at around 15 million.
Some 71 million people, or 91 percent of the target population, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Health officials and doctors have urged the public to get their booster shots amid the detection of additional highly infectious Omicron subvariants, which are seen to be better at evading one’s immunity compared to the previous variants.
Many Filipinos are still not getting their boosters because they believe new infections are just mild, according to an infectious disease specialist, calling the phenomenon “vaccine complacency.”
The nation’s COVID-19 task force has kept Metro Manila and other areas under Alert Level 1 until the end of July.
Vergeire, the Health Department’s officer-in-charge, had said that the rising number of new coronavirus cases in the Philippines should not be a cause for concern but she urged the public to remain on guard.
