The Philippines logged on Friday 1,902 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, bringing the total to 404,713, the Department of Health reported, as 29 laboratories failed to submit their reports.
This marks the fourth consecutive day where less than 2,000 cases were reported.
“A total of 29 labs were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Data Repository System on November 12, 2020,” said the DOH.
The top provinces and cities with new cases are Cavite, 122; Davao City, 113; Quezon City, 84; Bulacan, 81; and Manila, 78.
The DOH also reported there were 34,058 active cases, which is 8.4 percent of the total number.
Of the active cases, 83.9 percent are mild; 9.4 percent are asymptomatic; 4.3 percent are critical; 2.3 percent are severe; and 0.12 percent are moderate.
The DOH also said there are 506 persons who recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 362,903, which is 89.7 percent of the total and 31 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 7,752, which is 1.92 percent of the total.
The DOH said, nationwide, of the approximately 1,900 ICU bed capacity, 54 percent were available; of the approximately 13,500 total isolation bed capacity, 59 percent are available; of the approximately 5,900 total ward bed capacity, 70 percent are available; and of the approximately 2,000 units of ventilators, 77 percent are available.
Meanwhile, the DOH said that Cebu City was still in a “safe zone” and should not be put on lockdown even if the increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases had outpaced the rate of recoveries during the past three days.
Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire made the statement in response to the suggestion of Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera to have the city placed in a lockdown by the end of the month if the uptrend in new cases continues to surpass recovery rates.
Vergeire stressed that while local government units were given a free hand to decide whether they should put their jurisdiction in lockdown, such drastic measures should only be done after much careful evaluation not solely dependent on case count.
From mid-June to July, due to rising COVID cases, Cebu City was placed under strictest protocols under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ—measures that ban public transport and allows half of the public transport to operate, respectively; and both categories prohibit non-essential work.
Health protocols have been eased since August to allow a percentage of the population to report for work and resume business to jumpstart the economy.