(Eagle News) — COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 2,839,790 on Wednesday, Dec. 29, after the Department of Health reported 889 additional cases.
The additional cases are an increase from the daily average of 300 to 400 cases reported by the DOH in previous weeks.
According to the DOH, of the total cases, 10,418 cases were active.
Of these, 536 were asymptomatic, 4384 were mild, 3346 were moderate, 1778 were severe, and 374 were critical.
Recoveries rose to 2,778,131 with the addition of 214 recoveries.
The COVID-19 death toll is now at 51241, with the addition of 28 deaths.
The DOH reminded the public not to be complacent amid the threat of COVID-19.
In urging the public to remain cautious against the virus in a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 28, the department noted the increase in COVID-19 cases “nationally” and the Omicron variant threat.
The Palace on Wednesday, Dec. 29, said it was “getting concerned” about the recent uptick, and reiterated the department’s call.
The Philippines has so far reported four Omicron variant cases.
The DOH has said the husband of the fourth Omicron variant case also tested positive for COVID-19 although his sample was still undergoing genome sequencing for identification of the specific COVID-19 variant.
The World Health Organization has said that the variant was “probably” already in most countries but remains undetected.