FOR the second day in a row, the Department of Health (DOH) reported less than 7,000 new cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) nationwide.
Based on the DOH case bulletin Monday, October 18, 2021, there were 6,943 new infections, 86 additional deaths and 19,687 new recoveries.
Active Covid-19 cases dropped to 68,832, the lowest since the 66,895 recorded on August 5, 2021. Of these cases, 1.9 percent were critical, 4.5 percent were severe, 8.42 percent were moderate, 79.7 percent were mild and 5.5 percent were asymptomatic.
The new infections brought the total case count to 2,727,286, after the removal of 25 duplicates.
Testing output remained low at 54,150 on October 16, with a positivity rate of 13.3 percent. Two laboratories were unable to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System.
The additional deaths, which included 30 cases that were initially tagged as recoveries, raised the death toll to 40,761. The case fatality rate swung back to 1.49 percent.
With the new recoveries, a total of 2,617,693 have now recovered from infection, comprising 96 percent of the total case count.
Covid-19 cases nationwide have been going down since the peak in early September, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing Monday.
The average daily cases were down to 7,732 in the recent seven days from October 11 to 17 compared to the peak of 20,946 on September 6 to 12.
The September peak was twice the 10,431 peak for the period March 29 to April 4.
Nationally, the Philippines is at moderate risk of Covid-19 transmission, with a negative two-week growth rate but a high risk average daily attack rate.
Vergeire said most regions are already showing negative two-week growth rates. But most continue to have high risk daily attack rates.
Only Zamboanga Peninsula, or Region 9, has a high risk case classification because of its positive two-week growth rate and high attack rate.
Seven other regions — Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, Davao, Central Luzon, Caraga, Bicol and BARMM — have a high risk classification in terms of intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)