The Health Agency announces the weekly situation of COVID-19 in the country with cases up from 7,398 on the week of June 27-July 3, 2022 to 10,271 for the week of July 4-10, 2022. This is an almost 40% increase in cases with the daily average cases now at 1,467. As the number of cases increase, so do the severe and critical. There were 27 added severe and critical (or 0.27% of the new cases) this week. The 50 added deaths this past week were not recent (or fresh) and had occurred prior to June 27, 2022. The 50 verified deaths occurred from November 2020 to May 2022.

On healthcare utilization, non-ICU bed use is up at 4,863 (of 21,424) this past week compared to 4,342 (of 21,791) of the other week. That means 22.7% vs 19.9% for non-ICU bed utilization. On ICU bed utilization, 411 (of 2,414) were occupied (17%) this week compared to 381 (of 2,487) or 15.3% the previous week. The number of severe and critical admissions stood at 555 this past week versus 497 the week prior. In general, the healthcare utilization of the country is relatively low in spite of the rising COVID-19 cases. This may not be necessarily true in all localities.

Vaccination coverage of the target population is now at 78.95% (up from 78.64%) and 77.72% of the A2 population is now covered. The vaccination rate is also slightly up with close to 700,000 being fulling vaccinated as of the week prior and close to 400,000 receiving a booster dose. However, the number of individuals receiving a booster (or additional dose) is still a low 15.34 million (although up from the 15.14 million the week prior to this).

There are 1,660 new cases reported today with no deaths added. This week begins with a 9.6% positivity rate.

The NCR accounted for 769 (or 46%) of the cases for the day. Quezon City and Manila reported triple digits with 156 and 103 cases, respectively. Twelve other LGUs reported double digits: Parañaque and Makati had 78 cases apiece, Taguig 62, Pasig 52, Pasay City 47, Las Piñas 44, Mandaluyong 31, Muntinlupa 29, Valenzuela 26, San Juan 23, Caloocan 19, and Marikina 13. Pateros reported zero covid today.

Provinces and HUCs that reported triple digits today were: Cavite 110 and Iloilo 105. The following had double digits today: Laguna 68, Rizal 70, Bataan 69, Quezon Province 19, Bulacan 32, Pampanga 34, Bataan 13, Nueva Ecija 12, Tarlac 27, Negros Occidental 18, Aklan 12, Antique 11, Cebu (including Cebu City) 58, Negros Oriental 10, Cagayan Valley 15, Isabela 10, Davao CIty 22, and Pangasinan 25.

The Health Agency announces 2,018 new cases with 1 added death today. NCR owned 838 (41.5%) of the cases as the provinces outside of Mega Manila see more cases.

NCR had three LGUs with triple digits: Quezon City 150, Makati 107, and Manila 101. Nine other LGUs in the the metro had double digit: Parañaque 82, Pasig 59, Taguig 55, Mandaluyong 49, Las Piñas 47, Pasay City 43, Mandaluyong 41, Muntinlupa 34, Valenzuela and Caloocan 21 and San Juan 10. Navotas reported zero covid today.

Outside of NCR, the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Iloilo marked triple digits with 135, 122 and 139 cases each. Other provinces and HUCs that saw double digits were: Rizal 90, Bataan 66, Quezon Province 11, Bulacan 62, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija 55, Tarlac 18, Bataan 21, Negros Occidental 25, Cebu (including city) 80, Aklan 11, Capiz 10, Isabela 11, Davao city 26, Pangasinan 28, Baguio city 33, and Benguet province 13.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

As BA.5 and other subvariants of omicron continue to spread all over the world, East Asia is not spared of the onslaught of this subvariant. Japan is seeing another surge in numbers, together with other nations like the Philippines Brunei, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. In the Philippines, the 7-day average is up at >1300 new daily cases with a 7-day positivity at 9.5%. The effective reproduction number for the country is stable at 1.32 (+/-0.05).

Based on per capita, the Philippines now has double digits and stands at 11.73 cases per million population (as of July 8, 2022). All countries, except for Vietnam and Taiwan, have reproduction numbers >1.0.

The Health Agency announces 1,825 new cases (and no added deaths) today. The 7-day positivity rate continued to climb and is now at 9.5%. The NCR accounts for 835 (46%) of the cases for the day.

In NCR, Quezon City and Makati led with triple digits at 162 and 113 cases, respectively. This was followed by 12 other LGUs with double digits and rising numbers: Taguig 95, Manila 93, Pasig 81, Parañaque 58, Las Piña 46, Mandaluyong 42, Muntinlupa 37, Pasay and Marikina with 30 each, Caloocan 19, and Valenzuela and San Juan with 12 each. No LGU in NCR had zero covid.

Other parts of the Philippines that have triple digits today are: Cavite 145, Rizal and Iloilo with 104 cases apiece. Provinces and HUCs with double digits included: Laguna 85, Batangas 62, Bulacan 55, Pampanga 38, Bataan 18, Tarlac 15, Negros Occidental 20, Aklan 18, Capiz 11, Cebu (including Cebu City) 60, Davao City 24, Pangasinan 21, Baguio City 15, Cagayan de Oro City 10, and Palawan (including Puerto Princesa) 14.

The Health Agency announces 1,712 new cases and 14 added deaths today as the 7-day positivity rate continued to climb to 9.2%. The NCR owned 748 or 44% of the cases for the day.

Quezon City and Makati reported triple digits with 143 and 107, respectively. This was followed with 11 LGUs with double digits: Manila 89, Taguig and Pasig 66, Parañaque 57, Las Piñas 45, Mandaluyong 42, Pasay and Marikina 26, Muntinlupa 23, Caloocan 22, and Valenzuela 13. None of the LGUs in Mega Manila had zero covid.

CALABARZON had 371 cases led by Cavite with 123 cases. Laguna had 91, Rizal 86, Batangas 59 and Quezon Province 11 (there was one case with unknown province).

Other provinces and HUCs with double digits were: Bulacan 26, Pampanga 54, Bataan 41, Iloilo 98, Negros Occidental 15, Cadiz 16, Cebu 47, Davao City 18, Pangasinan 28, Baguio City 18, Benguet 19, and Camarines Sur 11.

The Health Agency announces almost 2000 new cases today with 3 added deaths as the 7-day positivity rate continued to climb to 8.9% (up from 8.7% yesterday). The NCR accounted for 44% of today’s cases as the provinces and HUCs outside of Mega Manila are seeing higher cases now.

Three LGUs in NCR report triple digits today with Quezon City leading the count with 163 cases. This was followed by Manila with 119, and Makati 115. Nine other LGUs in NCR had double digits: Taguig City 82, Pasig and Parañaque 62 each, Mandaluyong 51, Pasay City 49, Marikina 45, Las Piñas 32, Caloocan City 24 and Muntinlupa City 23. No LGU in NCR had zero covid today.

CALABARZON had 413 cases today with two province etching triple digits. These were Cavity 126 and Laguna 110 cases. Rizal had 89, Batangas 81 and Quezon Province 7.

The province of Iloilo also had triple digits today with 112 cases.

Other provinces and HUCs which saw increasing double digit cases were: Bulacan 57, Pampanga 43, Bataan 35, Tarlac 16, Nueva Ecija 15, Negros Occidental 13, Aklan 13, Antique 11, Pangasinan 47, Baguio City 29, Cagayan de Oro City 10, Sorsogon 11, Palawan 12, Cebu 68, Cagayan Valley 15 and Davao City 27.

Undoubtedly we will pass the 2,000 mark this week as the positivity rate continues to rise. We have not peaked yet.

The Health Agency announces 1198 new cases with 10 deaths as the country hits a 7-day average of 8.7% positivity rate. Almost half the cases today are from the NCR.

Mega Manila had 553 cases with 14 LGUs with double digits. This was led by Quezon City 98, followed by 73, Manila 70, Parañaque 64, Pasig 44, Taguig 41, Las Piñas 28, Muntinlupa 24, Pasay City 23, Caloocan 20, Marikina and Mandaluyong 18 each, Valenzuela 15 and San Juan 10. None of the LGUs in NCR have zero covid.

Cavite led the whole country with the most cases today with 104 cases. Other provinces and HUCs with double digits were: Laguna 70, Batangas 53, Rizal 40, Pampanga 41, Bulacan 32, Iloilo 64, Cebu 26, Batangas 13, Tarlac 10, Negros Occidental 18, Antique 12, Cebu 26, Davao City 19, and Pangasinan 12.

Marinduque saw 7 new cases today.

The positivity rate is up at 7.9% today, the low Tuesday. This, as the Health Agency announces 832 new cases and 8 added deaths.

The NCR accounted for 375 of the cases for the day (45%) with 13 LGUs reporting double digits. Quezon City led with 79 cases followed by Manila 58, Parañaque 37, Makati and Pasig 31 each, Taguig 28, Pasay and Mandaluyong 23 each, Muntinlupa and Caloocan 14 each, and Marikina 10. Navotas and Pateros had zero covid cases.

Other provinces and HUCs (highly urbanized cities) outside of NCR that saw double digits for the day are: Cavite 71, Laguna 39, Rizal 37, Batangas 34, Bulacan 18, Pampanga 23, Nueva Ecija 16, Iloilo 43, Negros Occidental 17, Cebu 33, Davao City 21, Pangasinan 12 and Baguio City 12.

The positivity rate continued to climb upwards as the PH saw a 60% rise in cases from the 7-day average for the week June 27-July 3, 2022 compared to June 20-26, 2022. For the past week, the Philippines recorded 7,368 new cases compared to the 4,634 cases seen the week of June 20-26. There were 19 cases categorized as severe and critical (which comprised only 0.26% of the new cases), while there were 74 added deaths (none of which occurred between June 20 – July 3, 2022 or considered as fresh).

The non-ICU bed utilization was at 4342 (of 21,791 beds used) for the week of June 27-July 3 compared to 4034 (of 22,252 bed used) during the previous week. This brings the non-ICU bed utilization slightly up at 19.9% compared to 18.1% the previous week. ICU bed utilization was 381 (of 2,487 beds) the past week compared to 391 (of 2,628 beds) the previous week. A tad up at 15.3% the past week versus 14.9% the week of June 20-26. There were less severe and critical admissions in spite of the higher number of cases this week, with 497 admissions compared to 591 the week of June 20-26.

Vaccine coverage is at 78.64%, up from a previous 78.17%, while the A2 population coverage is at 77.66% (from 77.48%). Individuals with booster/additional doses are very low as only a little more than 200,000 individuals took advantage of the booster doses available.

The Health Agency announces 1188 new cases with 10 additional deaths. The positivity rate begins this week at 7%. There are 557 cases today from NCR. Quezon City led with 134 cases. Eleven other LGUs in Mega Manila had double digits: Manila 86, Makati 65, Parañaque 55, Pasig 43, Taguig 33, Las Piñas 27, Mandaluyong 26, Pasay City 22, Marikina 18, Muntinlupa 15 and Caloocan 12.

Outside NCR, Cavite is the only province that reported triple digits with 104 cases. Other provinces and HUCs with double digits today were: Laguna 52, Rizal 58, Batangas 37, Quezon Province 10, Bulacan 25, Pampanga 35, Bataan 10, Iloilo 75, Negros Occidental 15, Aklan 16, Cebu 52, Cagayan Valley 10, Davao City 14, Pangasinan 13, and Baguio City 14.

Cagayan de Oro and Albay had 6 cases each today.

The Health Agency announces 1323 new cases today with 14 deaths. NCR led the pack with more than 50% of cases for the day. Quezon City had triple digits with 142 cases. This was followed by 13 other LGUs in Mega Manila with double digits. They were: Manila 99, Makati 86, Taguig 53, Pasig 43, Parañaque 39, Mandaluyong 36, Muntinlupa 33, Marikina 31, Pasay City 28, Valenzuela 18, Las Piñas 17, San Juan 14, and Caloocan City 13. None of the LGUs had zero covid.

Outside of NCR, saw more provinces and HUCs with double digits and rising cases. Those with double digits were: Cavite 74, Iloilo 69, Laguna 66, Rizal 54, Cebu 53, Batangas 38, Bulacan 32, Pampanga 27, Benguet 21, Davao del Sur 17, Negros Occidental 16, Bataan and La Union 13, Antique and Isabela 13, Pangasinan and South Cotabato 11.

Albay and Camarines Sur had 9 cases each.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

The Philippines is seeing a 7-day average of 989 cases/day with the country tipping the 1,000 mark mid-week this week. Notice, however, that most countries in East Asia are on a slight upward tick because of omicron subvariants B.A.5, B.A.4 and B.A.2.12.1. These are more highly transmissible than delta and present predominantly as mild infections (or even asymptomatic) among those who are fully vaccinated with boosters compared to the unvaccinated group.

On a per capita (new cases per million population) basis (which is a better reflection of the situation of the epidemic in the country), Brunei tops the list, followed by Taiwan and Singapore with four digits. With Vietnam’s cases easing down, they now have an average of 750 daily cases with 7.51 per million population a day.

The reproduction rate is highest in Indonesia and the Philippines where the latter has an effective Rt of 1.4 (+/- 0.05) and a 7-day positivity rate of close to 7%. Notice that except for Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan, all the rest of the East Asian nations have a Rt >1.0.

The Health Agency announces 1302 new cases, while the positivity rate remained at 6.6%. There are 13 deaths added today. The NCR accounted for 48% of the cases for the day.

In Mega Manila, Quezon City led with 134 new cases while 13 LGUs had double digits. These were: Manila and Makati 83 each, Parañaque 52, Pasig 40, Pasay City 38, Las Piñas and Mandaluyong 34, Taguig 29, Muntinlupa 24, Marikina 20, Caloocan 14, San Juan 11 and Valenzuela. Pateros was the lone LGU in NCR with zero covid.

Outside of NCR, many provinces and HUCs are seeing rising cases. This was led by Cavite with 132 cases or almost half the 295 cases in CALABARZON for the day. Rizal had 65, Laguna 59, Batangas 33, and Quezon Province 6.

Other provinces and HUCs with double digits were: Iloilo 66, Cebu 49, Pampanga 32, Bulacan 24, Negros Occidental 16, Davao City and Baguio City 13 cases apiece, Cagayan de Oro 12, and Pangasinan 11.

Areas that saw increasing cases today were: Aklan 9, Benguet 7, General Santos 7. Albay 8, Zamboanga City and South Cotabato 6 each.

And these are just those where PCR is done. No rapid antigen results are added to the daily count.