THE Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, reported 1,391 new coronavirus infections, breaking a series of over 1,500 cases a day for five consecutive days.
These brought the cumulative case count to 552,246 as of Tuesday.
There were seven additional mortalities, raising the death toll from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to 11,524.
The case fatality rate remained at 2.09 percent.
There were 45 more patients who have recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 511,796.
A total of 28,926 active cases, or 5.2 percent of the total, were in isolation or in hospitals.
Testing remained low at only 15,992 tests conducted in 24 hours as of noon of February 15, of which 841, or 5.3 percent, yielded positive results.
During the weekly meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday evening, February 15, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said coronavirus cases in the country were declining, except in Central Visayas and Caraga regions as well as in eight cities in Metro Manila or National Capital Region.
He said cases in these two regions and eight cities have continued to rise.
Based on the DOH coronavirus tracker, the following cities and provinces have recorded the highest number of new cases in the last 14 days: Cebu City (2,028), Cebu Province (957), Quezon City (945), Davao City (734) and Manila (707).
By regions, the NCR continued to lead the list with 4,801 new cases in the last 14 days, followed by Central Visayas (3,981), Calabarzon (1,962), Davao Region (1,372) and Central Luzon (1,266).
All 17 regions in the country, however, are in the “safe zone” in terms of healthcare utilization, Duque said.
The utilization rate in some regions and cities, however, are in the moderate to critical risk level, he added. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)