PHL new Covid-19 cases inch higher for 2nd straight day at 18,638; new recoveries lower at 13,106

Total active cases rise slightly to 231,658

Courtesy DOH

(Eagle News) – For the second straight day, new Covid-19 cases inched higher on Friday, January 28, as the Department of Health recorded 18,638 new cases.

The new cases were slightly higher than Thursday’s number of 18,191, and Wednesday’s (Jan. 26) 15,789 cases.

But this time, it broke the six-day streak of new recoveries exceeding new Covid cases because on Friday, there were only 13,106 new recoveries. From January 22 to 27, new recoveries exceeded the number of new cases.

Because of this, the total active cases in the country rose to 231,658 from Thursday’s 226,151. The percentage of total active cases on Friday, Jan. 28, compared to the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began was 6.6. This is higher than Thursday’s 6.5 percent.

Total Covid-19 recoveries rose to 3,226,032, or 91.9 percent of the 3,511,491 total Covid-19 cases.

New Covid-19 deaths on Friday were 68 which is lower than the 74 deaths on Thursday. There are 53,801 total Covid deaths since the pandemic began, which is just 1.53 percent of the total Covid cases.

As before, majority or 97.9 percent of the active cases are still either mild or asymptomatic.

But the ICU bed utilization rate in Metro Manila rose to 42 percent, or 1 percent higher than Thursday’s 41 percent, while ward bed utilization decreased to 24 percent on Friday from 26 percent the previous day.

The DOH said that the Omicron sublineage, BA.2 or the “stealth Omicron”, is the predominant Covid-19 variant in the Philippines.

 

(Eagle News Service)