MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines now has 2,841,260 confirmed COVID-19 cases after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,623 additional cases on Thursday, December 30.

This is the highest single-day tally since November 21, when 2,227 new cases were reported.

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The positivity rate, or the percentage of people who tested positive for the virus among all who have been tested, is also at the highest in almost two months at 6.6%. This is the highest daily rate since October 31, when it was at 6.75%.

These positive cases were added to the tally of confirmed cases only after further validation. This process helps ensure that cases would not be recorded in duplicates, and that all test results had been submitted, explained the department.

The DOH also reported on Thursday 133 new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 51,373. Meanwhile, recoveries were up by 256, raising the total to 2,778,115.

Of the total cases, 11,772 are active or currently sick. Active cases now have a 0.4% share of total cases in the country.

The DOH said that of the reported cases on Thursday, 1,582 or 97% occurred within the last 14 days. The top regions with reported cases during this period were Metro Manila (1,063), Calabarzon (173), and Central Luzon (101).

Two of the laboratories were not operational and three failed to submit data on Tuesday, December 28. Based on data from the past two weeks, these five laboratories account for 0.1% of all samples and none of the positive cases.

The increase in confirmed cases in the Philippines comes as other countries experience a surge in COVID-19 infections. Countries like the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, and Australia have registered a record number of new cases as the Omicron variant of the virus continues to spread.

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In the Philippines, a fourth case of the Omicron variant was reported on Monday, December 27. – Rappler.com