The Philippines logged a record-high 9,838 daily new cases of COVID-19 Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 702,856, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.
Fifty-four more people died from the disease, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 13,149, which is 1.87 percent of the total cases.
On the other hand, the DOH also reported that 663 persons recently recovered from the disease, bringing the total recoveries to 580,689, which is 82.6 percent of total infections.
This left a record high of 109,018 active cases, which was 15.5 percent of the total number of cases.
The previous highest daily increase was recorded on Thursday at 8,733.
Of the active cases, 95.1 percent are mild; 3 percent are asymptomatic; 0.7 percent are critical; 0.8 percent are severe, and 0.42 percent are moderate.
Nationwide, 54 percent of the total ICU bed capacity is in use; 43 percent of the total isolation bed capacity is in use; 43 percent of the total ward bed capacity is in use, and 36 percent of the total number of ventilators are being used.
In the National Capital Region, 72 percent of the total ICU bed capacity is in use; 68 percent of the total isolation bed capacity is in use; 55 percent of the total ward bed capacity is in use; and 52 percent of the total number of ventilators are being used.
To stem the virus spread, the National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal – known as the “NCR Plus” bubble – were placed under general community quarantine with additional specific restrictions from March 22 until April 4, with movement going in and out of the zone barred.
Limited religious gatherings for the Holy Week, however, were allowed.
As the pandemic raged, the Palace said 400,000 vials of the CoronaVac vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech that arrived March 24 will be distributed in Metro Manila and other provinces that are most affected by the new variants of the coronavirus.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group has allocated the vaccines to Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Cebu and Davao to address the surge in COVID-19 cases in those areas.
Roque said medical front-liners will still be prioritized in the government’s mass vaccination campaign.
“As of now, health workers remain the priority. All health workers have the option to decide whether they want Sinovac vaccine,” he said in Filipino.
The 400,000 doses that arrived March 24 brought to 1 million the vaccine jabs donated by the Chinese government to the Philippines.
CoronaVac is the third COVID-19 vaccine brand granted an emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.
Duterte earlier approved the recommendation to administer about 525,000 COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by AstraZeneca as the first dose to medical front-liners to provide them partial protection against the disease.
The DOH said Friday it was still looking for health care workers who should be prioritized for the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program, as the country ramps up its vaccination program against the deadly virus. in a Teleradyo interview, at least 1.8 million health care workers in the country should be inoculated first against the disease.
“We have yet to find them because many of our health-care workers dealing with COVID are not affiliated in any of the institutions or facilities that we have right now,” Vergeire said.
These health-care workers are reportedly doing freelance work or affiliated with private facilities, she added.
The agency has called on local government units to search for the remaining health care workers so they could be vaccinated.
Vergeire said those working in temporary treatment and monitoring facilities could be inoculated if health care workers were not avaiålable.
Health care workers conducting contact tracing, doing research or in laboratories and also those in private nursing homes can also be vaccinated, she said.
As of March, over 508,000 frontline health workers have received the first dose of COVID-19 jabs.
Metro Manila led with the number of vaccinated recipients with 279,870, followed by Central Visayas with 110,760 and Calabarzon with 94,560.
Also on Friday, Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said the Department of Trade and Industry hoped against the extension of tighter restrictions in Metro Manila and four surrounding provinces beyond April 4, despite estimates that the current surge in infections might take more time to get under control. The DTI, she said, was “balancing economy and health.”