MANILA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines crossed another grim milestone as the COVID-19 case count topped 3 million on Tuesday.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Southeast Asian country surged to 3,026,473 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 28,007 new daily infections.
The DOH also reported 219 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the country's death toll to 52,511. The number of active cases ballooned to 181,016 as the positivity rate rose to 44.5 percent.
The Philippines' COVID-19 infections peaked on Monday, with 33,169 new cases. Officials blamed the spike on high mobility and poor compliance with safety health protocols during the holiday season.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque reported during a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte aired on Monday night that the COVID-19 situation in the country is now at "critical risk."
The country has experienced a "690 percent increase in the seven-day moving average of reported daily cases, and 3,663 percent two-week growth rate" as new infections reach new highs over the past days, Duque said.
He added that the country's average daily attack rate or the number of those infected per 100,000 people has climbed to 10.47, and the positivity rate to 40.4 percent. The newest genome sequencing showed over 60 percent of samples are Omicron variant cases, said Duque.
Despite the growth in the daily number of active cases, severe and critical cases are comparatively lower than observed during the September 2021 third wave. The DOH data showed that 97 percent of the cases are mild and asymptomatic.
Duterte has expressed concern over the COVID-19 situation in his country, saying it is becoming more alarming. The DOH said the community transmission of the highly contagious Delta and Omicron variant will further drive up the number of infections.
In an online briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted a sharp increase in the number of frontline medical workers who contracted the virus in recent weeks.
The government urged unvaccinated people to get the COVID-19 shots, saying the "vaccines are still the first line of defense against the virus." According to DOH, nearly 53 million people are fully vaccinated.
Vergeire said 85 percent of COVID-19 patients in hospitals are unvaccinated, and over 90 percent of the deaths recorded were unvaccinated.
The Philippines, with a population of around 110 million, has tested more than 24 million people since the outbreak in 2020. ■