MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) recorded 7,757 confirmed new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country, the second-highest since the pandemic began.
The country now has a total case of 663,794. 73,072 of which are active cases.
As of Sunday afternoon, DOH also logged 15,288 recoveries – the highest number of recoveries since the country tallied 17,727 in November last year. As of now, the country has 577,754 recovered patients.
However, DOH’s daily data on Sunday showed 39 new COVID-19 casualties, bringing the total death in the country to 12,968.
To address the rise of cases in the country, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) amended its restrictions in general community quarantine (GCQ) areas namely National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal starting today.
Among the changes, only individuals aged 18 to 65 will be allowed outside and only essential travel in and out of the general GCQ will be allowed. Public transportation will be operational but subject to guidelines of the Department of Transportation.
Mass gatherings are prohibited including religious gatherings, face-to-face meetings are highly discouraged while virtual meetings are encouraged. Weddings, baptisms, and funeral services are limited to 10 persons.
Dine-in restaurants, cafes, and establishments will once again be limited to delivery. Driving schools, traditional cinemas, video and interactive game arcades, libraries, archives, museums and cultural centers, and limited social events at Department of Tourism-accredited establishments are temporarily suspended.
IATF-EID also tasked private hospitals to increase their COVID-19 dedicated bed capacity to 30 percent, while public hospitals should allocate 50 percent of their beds for infected patients.
“Sana maintindihan ng lahat, this is for the common good,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Sunday afternoon. “We are just preventing the further spread of the COVID-19 virus.”/PN
