The Philippines logged 6,666 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as active cases reached a record high of 91,754, the highest since the pandemic hit more than a year ago, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
Wednesday’s tally brought the total number of infections to 684,311 and was the sixth-highest announced in a single day and the fifth highest for the year.
Forty-seven new deaths brought the total COVID-19 death toll to 13,039, which is 19.1 percent of total infections.
The DOH also reported that 1,072 patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total recoveries to 579,518, which is 84.7 percent of the total.
Active cases are now 13.4 percent of total infections. Of the active cases, 95.3 percent are mild; 2.5 percent are asymptomatic; 0.8 percent are critical; 0.9 percent are severe; and 0.46 percent are moderate.
The DOH also reported that, nationwide, 53 percent of the ICU bed capacity are being used; 43 percent of the isolation bed capacity is used; 41 percent of the ward bed capacity is used; and 34 percent of the total units of ventilators are being used.
The DOH also reported that, in Metro Manila; 71 percent of the ICU bed capacity is being used; 68 percent of the isolation bed capacity is used; 51 percent of the ward bed capacity is used; and 51 percent of all ventilators are being used.
More than half a million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given to Filipinos as of Tuesday afternoon, the department said.
Another 400,000 doses of donated Sinovac coronavirus vaccines from China arrived on Wednesday.
Metro Manila, home to a tenth of the country's population, has been placed under general community quarantine, along with Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, from March 22 until April 4, with additional restrictions imposed to arrest the virus' spread.
Earlier, the DOH said the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases seen nationwide has surpassed the peak recorded in July and August last year.
DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Alethea De Guzman said most of the new cases came from Metro Manila and the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) area.
“Our cases are still increasing at a fast rate. Our peak during the past week has exceeded the peak we saw in the first week of August 2020,” De Guzman said in a mix of English and Filipino during a briefing.
The Philippines averaged 5,644 daily new cases in the third week of March, which is 4.4 times higher than the figures at the start of January.
Metro Manila was in the “high risk” classification based on the speed of its case increase and the size of the population affected by COVID-19.
Cases in the capital region grew by 137 percent during March 7 to March 20 as compared to February 21 to March 6.
Some 28 hospitals in Metro Manila no longer had available intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients as of March 21.
The "critical risk" areas within Metro Manila are Marikina, Mandaluyong, Caloocan, San Juan, Pasig, Muntinlupa, Pateros, Quezon City, and Parañaque. All other cities are at high risk.
“However, we see that the regional healthcare utilization rate is in the safe zone. This is important because our regional healthcare utilization rate serves as the buffer,” De Guzman said.
On the other hand, the DOH said Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Caraga were at “moderate risk” for COVID-19.
In the same briefing, De Guzman said 8.7 percent of 4,310 samples subjected to genome sequencing tested positive for the B.1.1.7 (United Kingdom) and B.1.351 (South Africa) variants.
The B.1.1.7 has so far been detected in Metro Manila, the Cordillera region, and Regions 1, 3, 4A, 6, and 10.
The B.1.351 has been identified in Metro Manila and Regions 2, 3, 4A, 10, and 12.
Some 23 percent of the COVID-19 cases with new variants were returning overseas Filipinos.
The Philippines logged 223 B.1.1.7 cases, 152 B.1.351 cases, one P.1 (Brazil variant) case, and 104 P.3 (variant first detected in the Philippines) cases as of March 20.
“It’s important that whether we detect a variant of concern in an area or not, now that we are seeing a fast increase in cases, our regions and our local governments must ensure that our strategies are implemented quickly and effectively,” De Guzman said.
She also said clinical management remains the same even for patients with coronavirus variants.
Meanwhile, the OCTA Research Group is projecting a downtrend in the number of cases in Metro Manila and the four adjacent provinces four weeks after the areas were placed in a bubble. In its projections for the "NCR Plus" general community quarantine (GCQ) bubble released Wednesday, OCTA said that if the current reproduction number 2.0 will decrease to 1.5 within the two-week period from March 22 to April 4, “the trend will become downward in four weeks, and the number of new cases per day in the NCR will peak at 6,200.”
Residents of Metro Manila and adjacent provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna are prevented from going outside the NCR Plus border unless it was an essential trip, including going to the workplace, under the "NCR Plus" bubble policy. The "NCR Plus bubble" restriction also prevents people outside the bubble from entering the area unless it was an essential trip.
Police said residents in the area will not be restricted from traveling within the “bubble.”
The DOH said Wednesday that it is working to decongest hospitals, saying almost half of admitted patients are mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.
DOH spokesperson and Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said teams have been deployed to inspect hospitals’ compliance with the directive to allocate 30 percent to 50 percent of beds for COVID-19 patients.
“Based on the assessment done… almost 50 percent % of those admitted to our hospitals are mild and asymptomatic. One of the strategies will be for us to identify facilities where we can transfer asymptomatic and mild patients,” Vergeire said in a press briefing.
Vergeire said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) would establish new temporary treatment and monitoring facilities in two weeks.
Isolation czar Secretary Mark Villar earlier said quarantine facilities were 50 percent occupied in Metro Manila and 16 percent full nationwide.
Vergeire said the DOH is addressing hospitals’ need for more health workers amid a surge in cases.
“Our hiring of health care workers never stopped… We continue to do that as more resources are needed, especially at this time,” Vergeire said.
Vergeire said there is no constant supply of drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, both of which are being used on COVID-19 patients.
“All of these are being used out of the compassionate special permit… meaning they’re used at the discretion of doctors and they will be held accountable for the outcomes of their patients,” she said.
Some health workers posted on social media revealing that they are experiencing a shortage of these drugs.
“We spoke with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) yesterday and we’ve also sought help from the private sector to connect hospitals to suppliers,” Vergeire said.