The Department of Health, University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center, and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health reported yesterday the detection of additional 266 B.1.1.7 variant cases, 351 B.1.351 variant cases, and 25 P.3 variant cases.
Of the additional 266 B.1.1.7 variant cases, 11 cases are returning overseas Filipinos, 188 are local cases, and 67 are currently being verified if they are local or ROF cases. Based on the case line list, eight cases have died and 204 cases have recovered while 54 cases are still active.
Of the additional 351 B.1.351 variant cases, 15 cases are ROFs, 263 are local cases, and 73 are currently being verified if they are local or ROF cases. Based on the case line list, 54 cases are still active, 4 cases have died, and 293 cases have recovered, the report added.
Of the 25 additional P.3 variant cases, two are ROFs, 21 are local cases, and two are being verified if they are local or ROF cases. One case is still active and 24 have recovered.
The DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH reiterated that the P.3 variant is not yet identified as a variant of concern since current data is insufficient to determine whether the variant will have significant public health implications.
The DOH continues to reiterate that strict and consistent adherence to the minimum public health standards, increased support for the National Vaccination Program, and continued implementation of prevention, detection, isolation, treatment and reintegration strategies by local government units, along with the imposition of immediate localized interventions, such as granular lockdowns, are still keys to mitigating the continued number of increasing cases and the transmission of Covid-19.
RECOVERIES
The DOH reported 72,607 new recoveries yesterday, pushing the total of coronavirus disease 2019 survivors nationwide to 779,084.
The DOH said the figure is equivalent to an 83.2-percent recovery rate from among those who contracted the infectious disease.
There were also 10,098 new confirmed infections, bringing the total number of active cases to 141,089, and the overall cases to 936,133.
Of the active cases, about 96.7 percent are mild, 1.7 percent are asymptomatic, 0.7 percent are severe, 0.43 are moderate, and 0.5 percent are in critical condition.
The DOH also logged 150 more deaths, pushing the death toll to 15,960, or 1.70 percent of total cases.
“There were 17 duplicates removed from the total case count, and of these, seven are recoveries. Moreover, 48 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation,” it said.
Seven laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Document Repository System on April 17.
The department also reported that 68 percent of 1,900 intensive care unit beds, 49 percent of 13,600 isolation beds, 56 percent of 6,000 ward beds, and 47 percent of 2,000 ventilators for Covid-19 patients are currently in use nationwide.
Meanwhile, 84 percent of 700 intensive care unit beds, 63 percent of 3,800 isolation beds, 72 percent of 2,200 ward beds, and 63 percent of 800 ventilators are being used in the National Capital Region.
The public is reminded to stay home and observe minimum health standards when going out. Those experiencing Covid-19 symptoms are urged to immediately isolate and contact the nearest barangay health emergency response teams.*PNA
