Manila, The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported 15,592 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,417,419.
The DOH also reported that 154 more people died from the virus, pushing the country’s death toll to 37,228.
The DOH said the country’s COVID-19 fatality rate dropped to 1.47 percent compared with 2.47 percent in 2020, despite the rapid increase of cases.
Metro Manila, which has the highest number of cases in 2021, had the lowest fatality rate at less than 1 percent. The DOH added that the fatality rate among the elderly in 2021 was two times lower compared to 2020.
“The decrease shown in the national case fatality rate was multifactorial,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a statement.
“One of the factors that the DOH is considering is the overall improvement of the country’s healthcare system over the past year and its ability to cope with the higher demand for clinical assessment, referral, and management of cases,” she said.
Vergeire said the COVID-19 vaccination program also played a role in the decrease of fatality rate.
The Philippines, which has around 110 million population, has tested more than 19 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.
(EW correspondent)
