CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Department of Health (DOH) has asked the public to stay vigilant and avoid being complacent against Covid-19.
The agency disclosed that some 260 daily cases were recorded last week, higher by 36 percent from 191 infections logged from November 28 to December 4.
From December 5 to 11, the DOH recorded 1,821 additional Covid-19 cases.
Some 228 people --- 13 from the new cases --- are in severe and critical conditions.
This is about 9.6 percent of those admitted in hospitals across the country, with a gradual rise of transmissions noted in the National Capital Region.
The agency's latest Covid-19 tracker shows that there were 3,876 active cases as of Monday, December 11.
The DOH also recorded 13 Covid-19 mortalities in the past week. Six of the 13 occurred in the last two weeks.
These bring the total death toll from the disease to 66,779 nationwide.
“We remind everyone to avoid being complacent amid the continued threat of COVID-19,” the DOH said.
The agency urged the public to follow the public health protocols and guidelines similar to when the country was still under alert level 1.
DOH mentioned the wearing of face masks and staying in well-ventilated areas.
Individuals experiencing symptoms should stay home and isolation centers immediately, the DOH said.
On July 21 this year, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. via Proclamation No. 297, lifted all Covid-19 protocols, including the wearing of face masks, which remains optional to date.
The proclamation came after the World Health Organization on May 5, declared Covid-19 as "no longer a global health emergency."
The period marked the last time the DOH recorded a daily average of more than 200 cases from July 17 to 23, 2023.
As of Monday, the DOH said that only 13.6 percent of the 1,298 beds in intensive care units were utilized and 16.5 percent of the 11,111 non-ICU beds are occupied.
Most of the hospitals in the country including Philippine General Hospital have implemented their face mask policy inside and within the vicinity of the facilities.
The uptick in new Covid-19 infections comes after the DOH noted 171,067 cases of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and other respiratory diseases, including "walking pneumonia" as of October 28 this year.
The DOH however, stressed that M. pneumoniae which causes "walking pneumonia" is not new or unusual and has previously been detected using various surveillance systems and methods, similar to ILI and other bacterial infections.