The Philippines now has 591,138 confirmed COVID-19 cases after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,439 additional cases on Saturday, March 6.

This is the highest number of new cases recorded in almost 5 months, or since October 12, 2020.

Of the total cases, 43,323 are active or are currently sick. This is the highest since October 24, 2020, when the total active cases in the country hit 47,773.

Active cases now share 7.33% among total cases in the country. This is also the highest since November 28, 2020, when it was at 7.34%.

The DOH also reported 42 new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 12,465. Meanwhile, recoveries are up by 160, raising the total to 535,350.

No national lockdowns yet

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa briefing on Saturday, March 6, that they are not yet considering locking down regions in the country to curb the spread of the disease.

“Hindi po tayo pumupunta pa doon sa usapin na kailangan po nating isara ang buong lungsod o ang buong region. Inaasahan po natin ang ating mga local governments will give their localized response, katulad ng ginagawa ngayon sa Pasay kung saan meron na tayong almost 80 na mga barangays na nilockdown nila, localized,” Vergeire said.

(We are not yet considering locking down an entire region. We expect our local governments to give their localized response, such as the case now in Pasay City where they locked down almost 80 barangays.)

Pasay City earlier recorded a fast spread of COVID-19, averaging at 150 cases per day from February 26 to March 4. The country’s first cases of the South African variant of the virus were also detected in the city.

Vergeire added that the detection of COVID-19 variants is not the cause of the increase in the confirmed cases recorded daily.

“We need to change our countrymen’s mindset. Yes, we detect new variants. But what we need to understand is that the reason we record new cases is that we did not comply with the health protocols. The variants are just aggravating factors,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino. – Rappler.com