THE Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday, December 3, 2020, confirmed 1,061 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in about a month.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said the cases in some parts of the country may now be lower, but this should not be a reason to become complacent.
He reiterated the warning against large gatherings and urged the public to properly wear face masks and face shields, and observe physical distancing.
“Even though we see a lowering trend in the number of Covid-19 cases, this is not irreversible. We need to maintain our caution especially for the upcoming holidays. Everyone should remain vigilant as the threat of the pandemic is still here,” Duque said in a statement.
The new cases on Thursday brought the total case count to 435,413, including 27,642 active cases.
The DOH case bulletin showed that Davao City continued to post the highest number of new cases with 92, along with Quezon City.
They were followed by Rizal with 50, Pampanga with 44 and Quezon province with 43.
The DOH case bulletin also showed 10 additional mortalities, raising the death toll from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to 8,446. The case fatality rate remained at 1.94 percent.
There were 328 additional recoveries, bringing the total to 399,325 or 91.7 of the total case count.
A total of 24,429 tests were conducted on December 2, of which 1,087 or 4.4 percent yielded positive results.
Duque reminded the public not to hold large family and social gatherings during the holidays.
“With our current pandemic situation, any large gathering of people is considered a risk to one’s health. It would be wiser, at this time of pandemic, to simply stay at home during this Yuletide season and limit the celebration to household members only,” he said in a statement.
He urged the public to use online platforms such as the social media, video messaging apps and e-commerce sites in lieu of the traditional holiday activities like attending masses or simbang gabi, getting in touch with relatives and buying gifts.
Duque also advised senior citizens, especially those with weak immune systems and underlying medical conditions, to stay at home.
Globally, coronavirus infections approached 65 million while deaths increased to nearly 1.5 million as of December 3, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)