MANILA, Philippines – For one week straight, daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines dipped below 5,000 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,730 new infections on Monday, February 14.

This brings the country’s total caseload to 3,639,942.

Below are the dates when cases dipped below 5,000.

• February 8 – 3,574
• February 9 – 3,651
• February 10 – 4,575
• February 11 – 3,788
• February 12 – 3,792
• February 13 – 3,050
• February 14 – 2,730

The total number of active cases, or those currently sick, stands at 76,609, the lowest since January 6, when 56,561 were reported.

The DOH also recorded 164 deaths. The total death toll due to COVID-19 in the country increased at 55,094.

Meanwhile, recoveries were up by 7,456 for a total of 3,508,239.

The DOH reported in is bulleting a positivity rate of 10.7% out of 28,620 tests. These positive cases were added to the tally of confirmed cases only after further validation. This process helped ensure cases would not be recorded in duplicate, and that all test results had been submitted, explained the department.

The DOH said all testing hubs were not operational on Saturday, February 12, while two laboratories were unable to submit their data on time. The cases reflected in the bulletin were based on tests conducted two days ago.

Though cases have been declining for the past days, daily infections are still higher than what’s being reported before the Omicron surge happened.

On Monday, Malacañang announced that Metro Manila will remain on Alert Level 2, the second-lowest alert level for COVID-19, until February 28. – Rappler.com