Philippines snaps 19 days of below-2000 infections a day

(UPDATED) New coronavirus infections went past the 2,000 mark on Sunday, November 29, 2020, breaking 19 consecutive days of less than 2,000 new cases a day and bringing the total case count closer to 430,000.

The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed 2,076 new cases, pushing the total to 429,864.

Time-based recoveries continued to decline, reaching only 10,579, lower than the 10,957 recoveries on November 22 and the 11,290 recoveries on November 15.

Under the time-based recovery strategy, cases with no or mild symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are declared as recoveries if no symptoms are experienced in more than 14 consecutive days.

The mass recovery on Sunday reduced the active cases to 22,867 and increased the total recoveries to 398,624, or 92.7 percent of the total case count.

There were 40 additional mortalities, raising the death toll from Covid-19 in the Philippines to 8,373. The case fatality rate remained at 1.95 percent.

The cities and provinces with the highest number of new infections on Sunday were Quezon City (137), Laguna (122), Cavite (103), Batangas (96) and Angeles City (79).

A total of 23,968 tests to detect Sars-CoV-2 were conducted on November 28, of which 1,473 or 6.1 percent yielded positive results.

As of November 28, the National Capital Region (NCR) still had the highest number of active cases in the country at 7,997. The region also topped the list in terms of new cases, with 550 on Saturday.

Calabarzon (6,280 active cases, 331 new cases), Central Luzon (3,030 active cases, 159 new cases), Davao Region (2,352 cases, 126 new cases) and Western Visayas (1,707 active cases, 90 new cases) completed the top five.

Central Visayas was sixth in terms of active cases, with 1,251, but was not among the top 10 regions with the highest number of new cases.

Other regions with a high number of active cases as of November 28 were Cordillera (1,058), Northern Mindanao (1,033), Zamboanga Peninsula (816) and Soccsksargen (712).

Central Visayas

The DOH 7 on Saturday confirmed 73 new coronavirus cases in Central Visayas: 30 in Bohol, 26 in Cebu Province, 10 in Negros Oriental, six in Cebu City and one in Lapu-Lapu City.

No deaths were reported. The number of Covid-19 deaths in the region remained at 1,388.

There were additional recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 21,520, or 89.38 percent of the region's total number of recorded cases.

Among highly urbanized cities, there was a noticeable decrease in the number of cases in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, while the number of new cases in Lapu-Lapu City went up from Oct. 25 to Nov. 21.

In Cebu City, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) records show that majority of coronavirus-positive persons did not develop symptoms of Covid-19.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 26, the EOC recorded a total of 297 asymptomatic cases and 61 developed Covid-19.

Asymptomatic patients are taken to the City's isolation facilities, while those who fall ill are confined in hospitals, the New Normal Oasis for Adaptation and a Home complex, or other facilities accredited by the DOH 7.

City Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the EOC, said majority of the asymptomatic cases got tested as a requirement for work or travel.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an infected person without symptoms can transmit the virus.

“For someone who is infected and remains symptom-free, onward transmission can occur,” WHO stated.

WHO also stated that the extent of transmission from people who remain well is unknown and likely depends on the setting.

Garganera advised the public to be cautious when going out, as he described asymptomatic cases as “potential super spreaders” since they are not aware they are infected.

With Christmas a few weeks away, Garganera urged the public to follow health standards to prevent transmission.

As of Friday, only 21.1 percent of 655 hospital beds reserved for Covid-19 patients in the city were occupied.

Globally, more than 62.26 million people have been infected with Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Over 1.45 million had died as of Nov. 29, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The Philippines remained in the 27th spot among countries with the highest number of cases, led by the US (13.24 million), India (9.39 million) and Brazil (6.29 million), the Johns Hopkins tracker showed.

Globally, more than 62.26 million people have been infected with Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Over 1.45 million had died as of November 29, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The Philippines remained in the 27th spot among countries with the highest number of cases, led by the United States (13.24 million), India (9.39 million) and Brazil (6.29 million), the Johns Hopkins tracker showed. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines and WBS / JJL / Sunstar Cebu)