The Health Agency announces 4159 new cases with 8 deaths and a 16.4% positivity rate today. The NCR owned 1302 (31.3%) of the total.

The leading haulers today were mainly from the provinces led by Cavite 316 and Laguna 307. Other with triple digits were: Rizal 190, Batangas 135, Bulacan 125, Pampanga 152, Cebu 209, Iloilo 145 and Pangasinan 127.

Provinces and HUCs with double digits were: Quezon Province 22, Bataan 66, Nueva Ecija 77, Tarlac 44, Zambalaes 49, Negros Oriental 16, Bohol 15, Cagayan Province 47, Isabela 32, Nueva Vizcaya 15, Quirino 26, Leyte 14, Agusan del Sur 15, Agusan del Norte 16, Oriental Mindoro 15, Palawan 20, Davao del Sur 80, Ilocos Norte 34, Ilocos Sur 15, Baguio City 29, Benguet 16, Kalinga 24, Bukidnon 24, Cagayan de Oro City 35, Misamis Oriental 10, Palawan 20, Davao del Sur 80, Ilocos Norte 34, Ilocos Sur 15, Baguio City 29, Benguet 16, Kalinga 24, Bukidnon 24, Cagayan de Oro City 35, Misamis Oriental 10, Misamis Occidental 14, South Cotabato 11, Camarines Sur 20, Albay 35, Naga 17, Masbate 12, Zamboanga del Sur 28, Zamboanga del Norte 12, Negros Occidental 46, Aklan 17, Cadiz 21 and Antique 24.

In NCR, five LGUs had triple digits: Quezon City 277, Manila 170, Makati 151, Pasig 107, Parañaque 107. Those with double digits were: Las Piñas 99, Pasay City 64, Mandaluyong 62, Taguig 58, Caloocan City 51, Muntinlupa 50, Marikina 41, San Juan 28 and Valenzuela 23.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

The total number of cases this week in the Philippines currently stands at 31,335 cases for the last seven day (July 24-30, 2022) or at 3370 new daily cases (that are underreported as antigen test results are not being counted).

The spotlight the past weeks has been on Japan and South Korea where they are seeing a fresh wave in their most recent surge of cases. Japan has exceeded the 200,000 daily new cases while South Korea is seeing almost 100,000 new daily cases.

On a per capita (number per million population), it is Brunei that tops with 3,456 people per million population. In terms of effective reproduction rate, all the East Asian countries are seeing Rt>1.0 except for Thailand and Taiwan. The Philippine has a flat Rt at 1.41 (+/- 0.05) when compared to the past week. This means that we will see an average of 3000+ to 4000+ cases this week and will continue to rise, albeit slowly, until it Rt and positivity rate begins to drop.

The Health Agency announces 3996 new cases, 1 added death and a positivity rate that has crossed the 16% mark – 16.2%. The NCR owned 1399 (35%) of the day’s cases.

The province of Cavite led the tally for the day with 319 cases. Other provinces outside of NCR that saw triple digits were: Laguna 259, Rizal 141, Batangas 132, Bulacan 126, Pampanga 122, Cebu 124, Pangasinan 116, Iloilo 104. Provinces and/or HUCs with double digits were: Quezon Province 54, Bataan 75, Nueva Ecija 56, Tarlac 28, Zambales 29, Negros Occidental 27, Aklan 14, Cadiz 16, Antique 18, Negros Oriental 21, Bohol 11, Cagayan Province 61, Isabela 61 (including 12 from the City of Santiago), Quirino 18, Davao del Sur 91, Ilocos Norte 27, Ilocos Sur 17, Baguio City 93, Benguet 20, Ifugao 20, Kalinga 14, Mountain Province 23, Cagayan de Oro City 30, Misamis Oriental 14, South Cotabato 12, General Santos 17, Camarines Sur 26, Albay 23, Naga City 20, Zamboanga del Sur 20, Leyte 14, Mountain Province 23, Mindoro Oriental 11 and Palawan 13.

In the National Capital Region, six LGUs had triple digits: Quezon City 277, Makati 161, Manila 155, Taguig 147, Parañaque 123, and Pasay City 106. Those with double digits were: Mandaluyong 87, Las Piñas 86, Muntinlupa 65, Pasay City 52, Marikina 46, Caloocan 37, Valenzuela 28 and San Juan 17.

The Health Agency announces ONE case of monkeypox in the Philippines from a 31 year old Filipino with history of travel to other countries that have reported cases of this viral infection. Based on the World Health Organization situation update, as of June 22, 2022, there were 50 member countries across the five WHO regions with 3413 laboratory confirmed monkeypox infections. The country joined other nations by contributing to the pool of monkeypox cases in the world. The Philippines falls under the Western Pacific Region. Three countries in this region have reported monkeypox: Australia, Singapore and South Korea.

Today, the Health Agency announces 4127 new cases, 14 deaths and 15.8% positivity. The NCR owned 33% (1380) of these cases as the numbers in the provinces continue to escalate as well.

In the NCR, Quezon City led all LGUs with 320 new cases today. Other triple digit haulers were: Manila 155, Makati 127, Pasig 116, Parañaque 111, and Taguig 104. Those with doublet digits were: Mandaluyong 87, Muntinlupa 83, Las Piñas 75, Caloocan 48, Pasay City 46, Marikina 42, Valenzuela 23 and San Juan 20.

The provinces with triple digits today were: Cavite 327, Laguna 292, Rizal 178, Batangas 133, Bulacan 109, Pampanga 154, Iloilo 159, Cebu 195, and Pangasinan 105. Provinces and HUCs with double digits included: Quezon Province 72, Bataan 65, Nueva Ecija 64, Tarlac 39, Zambales 27, Negros Occidental 46, Aklan 15, Cadiz 26, Antique 10, Zamboanga del Sur 29, Zamboanga del Norte 10, Azusa del Sur 12, Mindoro Oriental 17, Palawan 12 (all from Puerto Princesa), Negros Oriental 18, Bohol 34, Cagayan Province 61, Isabela 24, Nueva Vizcaya 11, Davao del Sur 79, Ilocos Norte 10, Ilocos Sur 14, Baguio City 63, Benguet 12, Mountain Province 35, Bukidnon 21, Cagayan de Oro City 19, Misamis Oriental 15, South Cotabato 10, Camarines Sur 16, Albay 31, Sorsogon 12 and Naga City 14.

Positivity rate is an important parameter, especially when this is provided in the context of the positivity rate in each locality. Professor Guido David does the breakdown of the positivity rates in these areas in the country. Notice that while NCR’s positivity rate is almost flat, the other provinces outside of Mega Manila are seeing a significant rise in positivity rate. When the rates approach or exceed 50%, the data are unreliable already as it reflects poor visibility of the actual COVID-19 situation in the area.

The Health Agency announces 3858 new cases with 10 added deaths today as the positivity rate continued to climb to 15.6%. While NCR owned 1223 of the cases, CALABARZON rained with 900 cases today and the rest of the provinces which never saw double digits are now on the map, as the cases in the provinces and HUCs outside of NCR are on a rise.

In NCR, five LGUs report triple digits: Quezon City 222, Manila 128, Makati 136, Parañaque 112, and Pasig 110. Those with double digits were: Las Piñas 96, Taguig 91, Mandaluyong 70, Muntinlupa 57, Pasay City 53, Marikina 49, Caloocan 39, San Juan 19, and Valenzuela 15.

It was the provinces outside of NCR that poured in close to 70% of the cases today. This was led by Cavite 330, Laguna 234, Rizal 143, Batangas 141, Bulacan 112, Pampanga 120, Iloilo 125, Cebu 162, and Pangasinan 102.

Provinces and HUCs outside of NCR that reported double digits were: Quezon Province 52, Bataan 68, Nueva Ecija 45, Tarlac 42, Zambales 24, Negros Oriental 42, Aklan 27, Antique 29, Negros Oriental 18, Davao del Sur 56, Ilocos Norte 33, Ilocos Sur 21, Baguio City 19, Benguet 11, Kalinga 20, Abra 15, Bukidnon 22, Cagayan de Oro City 36, South Cotabato 13, Sarangani 29, Camarines Sur 30, Albay 28, Sorsogon 15, Naga City 23, Masbate 11, Zamboanga del Sur 32, Agusan del Sur 11, Butuan 10, Oriental Mindoro 26 and Marinduque 12.

Only 6 provinces in the Philippines did not report any COVID-19 case today: Batanes, Dinagat Island, Sulu, Basilan, Davao Occidental and Misamis Occidental.

The Health Agency announces 2727 new cases with no added deaths today. Positivity is up at 14.8%, with NCR owning 36% (986) of the cases.

The triple digit numbers in the NCR were seen in Quezon City (172), Makati (134) and Manila (112). Eleven LGUs reported double digits: Parañaque 89, Pasig 74, Taguig 67, Las Piñas 65, Mandaluyong 45, Muntinlupa 44, Caloocan 37, Pasay City 36, Valenzuela 25 and San Juan 13.

Outside of NCR, Cavite took the crown with 191 cases followed by Laguna with 176, an Iloilo with 111. Other provinces and HUCs with double digits today were: Rizal 94, Batangas 84, Quezon Province 54, Bulavan 66, Pampanga 89, Bataan 37, Nueva Ecija 32, Tarlace 58, Zambales 23, Negros Occidental 28, Aklan 70, Cadiz 19, Antique 14, Cebu 73, Cagayan Province 57, Isabela 24, Davao del Sur 29, Pangasinan 69, Baguio City 58, Benguet 16, Kalinga 10, Cagayan de Oro 19, South Cotabato 11, General Santos 13, North Cotabato 12, Camarines Sur 17, Albay 22, Naga 10, and Palawan 12.

The Health Agency announces 2360 new cases with no added deaths but a positivity rate of 13.6% today. NCR owned 38% or 893 of the day’s numbers.

Mega Manila was led by three LGUs with triple digits: Quezon City 180, Manila 112, and Makati 107. There were eleven LGUs with double digits: Parañaque 83, Taguig 81, Pasig 75, Las Piñas 48, Pasay City 46, Mandaluyong 40, Muntinlupa 29, Caloccona City 28, Marikina 21, San Juan 18 and Valenzuela 16.

Healthcare utilization is at 27.3% for ICU hospitalization and 32.5% for non ICU hospitalization in the National Capital Region.

Outside of NCR, Cavite led the country with 199 cases and two other provinces from CALABARZON: Rizal 156 and Laguna 137.

The low Tuesday had the following provinces and HUCs reporting double digits: Batangas 93, Quezon Province 36, Bulacan 71, Pampanga 74, Bataan 45, Nueva Ecija 28, Zambales 16, Iloilo 66, Negros Occidental 20, Aklan 12, Cebu 62, Negros Oriental 22, Cagayan Province 31, Isabela 21, Davao del Sur 24, Pangasinan 41, Ilocos Norte 10, Ilocos Sur 11, Baguio City 38, Cagayan de Oro City 16, South Cotabato 11, General Santos CIty 11, Zamboanga del Sur 23, and Butuan 11.

The Health Agency provides a summary of the week of July 18-24, 2022 with total cases for the week up at 19,536 (based on PCR tests only) or an increase of 33% from last week’s (July 11-17, 2022) 14,640 cases. Notice that the cases this week was a large shift to the provinces that are now seeing rising cases of COVID-19. This past week, the Philippines had a 7-day average of 2791 daily cases. Fifty six of the cases this past week were severe and critical while the deaths added this week was 42 (with none occurring from July 11-24).

Vaccination status showed that 91.6% of the target population is now vaccinated while 77.87% of the target A2 (senior citizens) group is covered.

Healthcare utilization in the country for non-ICU beds is at 26% (5804 of 22,331 available) and can be explained by the fact that the LGUs had already closed the isolation facilities or that some patients being admitted for other diagnosis or procedures are testing positive. This is up from 23.8% the previous week. ICU bed utilization is also up at 21.7% (578 of 2,664) compared to last week’s 18.3% (481 of 2630 available beds). The number of severe and critical admissions are at 666, or 8.7% of the total COVID-19 cases. This is up from 589 last week.

The Health Agency announces 2778 new cases and 11 deaths today. The positivity rate is reset as it is the start of the week and is at 11.6%. The NCR continued to dominate the numbers but accounted only for 34% of the cases (942).

Three LGUs in NCR had triple digits led by Quezon City 214, Makati 127, and Manila 105. Eleven had double digits: Parañaque 77, Taguig 76, Pasig 63, Las Piñas 56, Mandaluyong 49, Pasay City 40, Muntinlupa 36, Marikina 28, Caloocan 22, San Juan 21, and Valenzuela 15.

Outside of Mega Manila, Cavite was the province that took the lead in the country with 249 cases. Laguna had 169, Iloilo 127, Pampanga 115, Rizal 115, and Cebu 115. Provinces and HUCs with double digits were: Batangas 73, Quezon Province 35, Bulacan 89, Bataan 38, Nueva Ecija 42, Tarlac 34, Zambales 21, Negros Occidental 18, Aklan 10, Antique 16, Cagayan Province 29, Isabela 24, Nueva Vizcaya 13, Davao del Sur 48, Pangasinan 87, Ilocos Norte 16, Baguio City 46, Benguet 13, Abra 11, Cagayan de Oro City 15, Misamis Oriental 10, Camarines Sur 11, Albay 12, Zamboanga del Sur 28, Leyte 14, and Oriental Mindoro 13.

The Health Agency announces 3657 new cases and 13 deaths with 14.1% positivity today. The NCR owned 1327 (36%) of the cases with CALABARZON owning 911.

In the NCR, five LGUs report triple digits: Quezon City 290, Makati 149, Manila 147, Parañaque 103, and Taguig 100. Nine LGUs reported double digits: Pasig 99, Las Piñas 92, Mandaluyong 66, Pasay City 62, Muntinlupa 46, Caloocan 44, Valenzuela 42, Marikina 34, and San Juan 26.

Provinces and HUCs outside of NCR that reported triple digits today were: Cavite 290, Laguna 250, Rizal 205, Cebu 157, Iloilo 144, and Batangas 130.

Those with double digits included: Quezon Province 33, Bulacan 71, Pampanga 98, Bataan 59, Nueva Ecija 52, Tarlac 42, Zambales 25, Negros Occidental 36, Aklan 20, Cadiz 26, Negros Oriental 15, Bohol 14, Cagayan Province 31, Isabela 36, Nueva Vizcaya 10, Quirino Province 10, Davao del Sur 60, Pangasinan 80, Ilocos Sur 10, Baguio City 37, Mt. Province 13, Cagayan de Oro 17, General Santos 16, Camarines Sur 17, Albay 27, Sorsogon 12, Zamboanga City 15, Leyte 13, Samar 11, Butuan City 11, and Mindoro Oriental 26.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

While the Philippines is recording an increase in cases, the number of cases among the East Asian nations are rising as well. This phenomenon is expected as the world experiences the spread of BA.5 and BA.2.75 sub variants of omicron.

Japan for the first time exceeded the 200,000 daily cases yesterday, while South Korea is seeing an uptick as it rides its third wave, prompting the South Korean government to instill mandatory testing (RT-PCR) on arrival (up to the third day of arrival) in the country. Taiwan and Vietnam are the only countries that are continuing to see a decline in the number of daily cases and the 7-day average. Thailand and Taiwan are the only countries with effective reproduction number (Rt) that is <1.0.

Based on population size, Brunei a country with less than half a million population and has a 7-day average 1,737 daily cases has the higher per capita cases in this part of the world with close to 4000 cases/million population. Its reproduction number is at 1.50.

The Health Agency announces 3604 new cases with 14 deaths and a positivity average of 14.1% today. While NCR continued to haul in the most cases with 1324 (36.7%), it is very clear that the country will continue to see rising numbers in the next few weeks as the provinces outside of NCR are seeing increasing cases. Note that the daily numbers are only from RT-PCR results and do not include those not tested and those that are tested using rapid antigen tests.

The National Capital Region had six LGUs with triple digits: Quezon City 274, Manila 159, Makati 150, Taguig City 121, Parañaque 114 and Pasig 100. Eight LGUs had double digits but saw increasing cases today. They were: Las Piñas 86, Mandaluyong and Muntinlupa with 57 each, Pasay City 53, Caloocan City 43, Marikina 41, Valenzuela 36, and San Juan 20.

Outside of NCR, CALABARZON led the other regions with 929 cases (26%). Cavite led all provinces with 362 cases followed by Laguna 217, Rizal 177, Batangas 122, and Quezon Province 51.

Other provinces that saw triple digits were: Iloilo 144, Pampanga 139, and Bulacan 103.

Provinces and HUCs outside of Mega Manila with double digits today included: Batanes 68, Nueva Ecija 60, Tarlac 36, Zambales 30, General Santos 11, Camarines Sur 12, Albay 14, Zamboanga City 11, Mindoro Oriental 13, Marinduque 10, Negros Occidental 44, Capiz 24, Cebu 96, Bohol 22, Cagayan Province 35, Isabela 44, Davao del Sur 57, Pangasinan 75, Baguio City 56, Mountain Province 11, Bukidnon 18 and Cagayan de Oro City 19.

Health care utilization is at 25.11% for non ICU beds and 18.99% for ICU beds nationwide.

Health care utilization in Mega Manila is up at 35.29% for non ICU beds and 26.14% for ICU beds.

The Health Agency announces 3389 new cases and 15 added deaths today. The 7-day average positivity rate is up at 14%. NCR owned 34% of the cases today with 1169 cases.

The cases today were led by the provinces of Cavite with 283 cases and Laguna with 242. Other provinces and/or HUCs with triple digits outside of Mega Manila were: Rizal 147, Pampanga 125, Cebu 133, Iloilo 153, Batangas 110 and Bulacan 104.

Notice the large shift in cases outside of NCR as almost all provinces/HUCs now have COVID-19 cases. Those with double digits were: Quezon Province 15, Bataan 54, Nueva Ecija 36, Tarlac 37, Zambales 22, Kalinga 10, Mountain Province 18, Abra 14, Pangasinan 80, Ilocos Norte 16, Baguio City 58, Benguet 18, Butuan City 11, Mindoro Oriental 18, Palawan 15, Negros Oriental 24, Bohol 16, Cagayan Province 74, Isabela 23, Davao del Sur 47, Negros Occidental 29, Aklan 17, Cadiz 13, Antique 10, Guimaras 10, General Santos City 10, Albay 16, Naga 11 and Zamboanga City 13.

In the Mega Manila, Quezon City led with 219 cases followed by three other LGUs with triple digits: Makati 156, Manila 143, and Taguig 124. Eleven of the LGUs reported double digits: Pasig 96, Parañaque 77, Las Piñas 69, Pasay City 47, Muntinlupa 45, Mandaluyong 44, Marikina 39, Caloocan 39, Valenzuela 33, San Juan 19 and Pateros 14.

Because the local government units have closed down the isolation facilities, expect the hospitals to slowly get filled up by people who will want or need to get admitted.

Please. If you have not been vaccinated, please get your jabs now. It’s never too late. As for those who have symptoms of COVID, get tested and isolate when positive even if your symptoms are mild. Be a responsible citizen.