THE total number of coronavirus infections increased to 261,216 Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, a day before the reduced physical distancing requirements in public transport vehicles are set to take effect.
In its case bulletin at 4 p.m. Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported an additional 3,372 cases of infection.
Of the 261,216 total number of infections, 49,277 were still active cases as of Sept. 13.
The proportion of patients in critical condition in active coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases went up to 2.2 percent (or 22 out of every 1,000) while severe cases accounted for 1.4 percent, asymptomatic cases made up 8.8 percent and mild cases decreased to 87.6 percent.
DOH also announced 20,472 recoveries, including those that were declared as recoveries under the time-based tagging methodology, bringing the total to 207,568.
Under this methodology, asymptomatic coronavirus-positive individuals and Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms are declared as recoveries after 14 days.
The agency said eight cases that were previously reported as recoveries turned out to be seven deaths and one active case, referring to Covid-19 patients who are still in hospitals or in quarantine.
DOH further announced 79 additional deaths, raising the death toll to 4,371.
Of the 79 additional deaths, 57 occurred in September, 14 in August, six in July, one in June and one in March.
Of the 3,372 new cases Sunday, 2,850 occurred in the last two weeks from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13.
The National Capital Region (NCR) continued to account for the highest number at 1,307 on Sunday, followed by Cavite with 240, Laguna with 207, Negros Occidental with 199 and Bulacan with 145.
Transport authorities are set to implement Monday, Sept. 14, the reduction in physical distancing requirement in public utility vehicles to 0.75 or 3/4 meter between passengers from the current one meter as specified by the World Health Organization.
The Department of Transportation, in proposing the reduction, said the distance between passengers may be reduced because health safety protocols, such as wearing of face masks and face shields, are being strictly implemented.
Passengers are also prohibited from talking or making a phone call on board public transport.
The distance between passengers will be further reduced to 0.5 or 1/2 meter after two weeks and further to 0.3 or 1/3 meter after another two weeks.
In Central Visayas, the DOH 7 reported no additional deaths linked to Covid-19 on Saturday, Sept. 12.
The Saturday data showed Covid-19 deaths in the region remained at 1,217.
While the DOH 7 logged 63 new cases, it also reported 26 additional recoveries.
Of the newly logged cases, 25 were recorded in Cebu City, four in Lapu-Lapu City, four in Mandaue City, 26 in Cebu Province, three in Bohol and one in Negros Oriental.
The total number of active cases in the region also fell this week compared to last week. The DOH 7 logged a total of 1,555 active cases on Saturday, which is 362 fewer than the 1,917 total active cases logged on Sept. 5.
Areas in Cebu Province have the most number of active cases in the region at 590, followed by Cebu City at 392, Lapu-Lapu City at 190, Mandaue City at 248, Bohol at 107 and Negros Oriental at 28.
Siquijor is back to being Covid-free after the recovery of its previous cases.
Since the first Covid-19 case was recorded in the region in March, a total of 16,936 patients have successfully recovered: Cebu City (8,667), Lapu-Lapu City (1,964), Mandaue City (1,944), Bohol (124), Cebu Province (4,110), Negros Oriental (124) and Siquijor (three). (MVI / SunStar Philippines / WBS)