Over 3,000 new Covid-19 infections were recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) during the past week.
In a bulletin issued on Monday, Jan. 2, DOH showed that a total of 3,458 new cases were recorded in the Philippines from Dec. 26, 2022 until Jan. 1, 2023. The average number of daily Covid-19 cases in the same period was 494.
“as mababa ng 39 percent kung ikukumpara sa mga kaso noong Dec. 19 hanggang Dec. 25 (This is 39 percent lower as compared to the number of cases recorded from Dec. 19 until Dec. 25),” said DOH.
Of the newly-recorded infections, only three are critically ill. Meanwhile, there were 164 recorded deaths, 45 of which “occured” in December 2022.
In terms of healthcare utilization, the agency said a total of 433 critically ill patients are currently admitted to hospitals across the country. Of the 2,155 intensive care unit (ICU) beds for patients with Covid-19, only 350 are occupied.
Meanwhile, 3,110 of the 18,412 non-ICU Covid-19 beds are currently in use.
Despite the easing of Covid-19 health protocols in non-crowded and outdoor spaces, the public was still advised to observe health protocols, such as but not limited to, using face masks and adhering to proper physical distancing.
“Pinapaalalalahan ang lahat na huwag maging kampante sa banta ng COVID-19. Bagkus, dapat natin ipagpatuloy ang tamang pagsunod sa minimum public health standards sa ilalim ng Alert Level 1 (We are reminding everyone not to be complacent about Covid-19. Instead, we should continue adhering to minimum public health standards under Alert Level 1),” DOH said.