For the first time in 10 months, the country's daily coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases once again dropped to below 1,000 on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
The total number of new people who tested positive for COVID-19 was at 849, the DOH said in its latest case bulletin. However, this drop in cases can be attributed to “low testing output,” the DOH said.
“The 849 new cases reported today is largely due to the regular low testing output coming from the weekend. Last Sunday showed the lowest testing output,” the DOH noted.
Also, six laboratories were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System, thus, their data was not yet included in the latest tally.
The last time the Philippines reported less than 1,000 infections was on Jan. 5, when there were 937 cases.
Active infections or those who are still sick also went down to 25,464.
It was shown in the latest case bulletin that 59. 1 percent of the active infections have mild symptoms, 18.61 percent are in moderate condition, 11.5 percent have severe symptoms, 5.9 percent are asymptomatic, and 4.9 percent are in critical condition.
The death toll also increased by 99 to 45,808.
Meanwhile, the recovery tally jumped to 2,748,069 after 2,393 new patients were able to survive from the viral illness.
A total of 2,819,341 people contracted COVID-19 since last year, the DOH said.
Despite the decreasing trend of cases, the DOH reminded the public to remain vigilant.
“Kung maari, iwasan ang mga matataong lugar, at paglabas ng bahay kung hindi naman kailangan. Isaisip ang pagsunod sa minimum public health standards at magpabakuna na ang hindi pa nababakunahan (If possible, avoid crowded places, and only leave your house when it is necessary. Keep in mind to always follow the minimum public health standards and get vaccinated immediately),” it said.