MANILA, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 834 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,060,960.
The DOH said the number of active cases dropped to 16,489, while 22 patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 65,215.
The number of tested people includes only those using RT-PCR tests. Many opt to use the more affordable antigen tests or forego tests altogether due to the mildness of symptoms.
The Philippines reported its highest COVID-19 single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan. 15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated nearly 73.7 million people. ■
