The average daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has gone down to less than 3,000 as the coronavirus transmission continued to drop, the OCTA Research Group said Sunday.
Meanwhile, making COVID-19 vaccines commercially available to the public in the country will provide more options for Filipinos and promote the vaccination program further, Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go said.
This developed as the Philippines recorded 2,318 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, according to latest data from the Department of Health (DOH), bringing the country’s total confirmed coronavirus infections to 3,874,641.
This is the third straight day that additional daily infections were less than 3,000, ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team head Edson Guido noted.
Fifty-four new deaths were also reported for the second day in a row, raising the total number of people in the country who succumbed to the respiratory disease to 61,667.
Active cases stood at 28,525, while those who recovered from the illness have now reached 3,784,449. Of the new infections, 782 are from Metro Manila.
In a report, OCTA said there were 2,959 average new daily cases over the past seven days, a decrease of 15 percent from the previous week’s average of 3,487.
During the week of Aug. 15 to 21, the country recorded an average of 3,412 daily infections, which is 15 percent lower compared to the previous week.
Of the new infections during the past week, 101 were severe and critical.
A total of 811 or 9.7 percent of COVID-19 patients in hospitals were in severe and critical condition, said the DOH.
Meanwhile Senator Go noted that the Food and Drug Administration’s move to make COVID-19 available for commercial sale seeks to aid in the Philippines’ transition out of the pandemic.
However, he asked the FDA to ensure that manufacturers would go through the evaluation and registration process when they apply for a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR).
“Experts should be able to assess the safety and efficacy of the vaccines before making them commercially available,” said Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health.
Task Force Edward, which was recently launched by the FDA, vouches for the commercialization of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
The FDA said this initiative will help the current administration to shift its focus from COVID-19 crisis management to a more robust recovery of the national economy.