By Isabella Magno

A total of 1,660 additional COVID-19 active cases were confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, July 11, bringing the country’s total active cases to 14,218, a 39% increase from the previous week. 

As of the latest update in the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker, the rising numbers brought the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 3,720,054, with 60,640 deaths since 2020.

The tracker also revealed that Metro Manila remains the region with the highest number of new infections with 7,920 cases, while Quezon city continues to be the city with the most reported new infections with 1,629 cases. Both numbers were acquired from the past two weeks. 

Moreover, DOH said in a report that 8.7% of all COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals across the nation are currently under severe and critical conditions. 

Additionally, only 17% of intensive care units (ICU) were utilized and 22.7% of non-ICU were used. 

Meanwhile, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David reported that the country’s COVID-19 positivity rate is now at 9.6%, almost double the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) positivity rate benchmark of 5%. 

OCTA Research also reported that positivity rates in 13 provinces in the country have breached 10%.

According to WHO, the positivity rate of COVID-19 should remain below 5% to keep the transmission of the virus under control.

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