DOH Reports Rise In COVID-19 Cases By 112 Percent

Authorities have recorded an increasing nationwide daily average rate of 1,352 COVID-19 cases in the country per day between May 1 to 7 despite the World Health Organization (WHO) saying the disease is no longer a global health emergency.

"This is 112 percent higher than cases reported from April 24 to 30," the Department of Health (DOH) said in this Philippine Star report.

The figures represent the highest recorded average daily cases registered in the Philippines since Nov. 7 to 13, 2022 when the daily average was at 1,296 infections, the outlet also noted.

The health department also recorded a total of 9,645 new COVID-19 cases between May 1 to 7 of which 50 are critical cases. The high positivity rates were noted in the provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Isabela, Laguna and Rizal, CNN Philippines reported.

Nine deaths were logged between April 24 to May 7, the outlet said.

The DoH sounded the alarm on rising COVID-19 cases despite the World Health Organization's recent pronouncement that the disease is no longer a global health emergency.

"For more than a year the pandemic has been on a downward trend," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting on May 5.

"This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before COVID-19," Tedros added.

During the meeting, members of the IHR Emergency Committee reported a decline in COVID-19-related hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions. The group also noted the high levels of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19. IHR advised that it is time to transition to long-term management of the disease.

WHO first declared the coronavirus outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020 after noting the rising cases outside of China where it was first reported.

In April, the DoH urged Filipinos to get booster shots to prevent the further spread of the virus due to the increased mobility of the population. A month before this, the health department revealed that around 8 million COVID-19 vaccines are set to expire from March to October of this year.