For the week of March 14-20, 2021, the Philippines added 39,438 new cases in those 7 days.
Today the Health Agency reports 7,757 new cases and 39 new deaths. In spite of the weekend recovery haul of more than 15,000 cases, it wasn’t enough to bring down the active cases which now hovers at 11 percent with more than 73,000 active patients. Remember, as the number of cases continue to increase, the number of active cases will take time to decline. Putting the population at higher risk for transmission of the virus.
The daily positivity rate remains unchanged at 14.8 percent (close to 15 percent), implying that for every 1,000 individuals that get tested, around 150 will turn up positive.
The National Capital Region continued to lead the haul with 4,393 new cases or 57 percent of the total cases for today. CALABARZON is in second with 14 percent contribution and Central Luzon with 9 percent. These three regions continue to account for 80 percent of the total cases in the country. The other regions with triple digits today were: Central Visayas, Cagayan Valley, CAR, Western Visayas and Davao Region. Twenty-one ROFs were included in todays tally.
In Mega Manila alone, 14 of 17 LGUs reported triple digits! Making this one of the worst days in the NCR. Quezon City continued the haul with 20.3 percent of the total cases, followed by City of Manila with 645, Pasay City 457, Makati 325, Parañaque 298, Caloocan 280, Taguig 240, and Pasig 219. The cities of Valenzuela, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Malabon, Las Piñas and Navotas all reported more than 100 cases. All 14 of the 17 LGUs that reported triple digits landed in the top twenty cities with most cases.
On a provincial level, Cebu was back on top. But the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Isabela are seeing higher numbers today. Nueva Ecija, for the first time, lands in the top ten.
Yesterday, March 20, 2021 was a game changer with the 7,999 cases reported in a single day. The Philippines ranked 14th in total number of new cases, overtaking several European and South American nations, including our Asian neighbor Indonesia.
Based on the European CDC tracking, only the Philippines is seeing a significant surge of cases in the region. This is the highest surge the country is experiencing since our initial surge between July – August of 2020. The surge in the Philippines is mainly driven by the National Capital Region, which contributes to more than 50 percent of the daily numbers, CALABARZON (Region IVA) with more than 16 percent, and Central Luzon (Region III) with more than 10 percent.
Relative Joy 