MANILA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Philippine health authorities on Wednesday urged people to remain vigilant amid an uptick of COVID-19 infections in Metro Manila and some parts of the country.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Metro Manila, with averaged 170 infection cases daily in the past two weeks, "maintains a sharp increase."
However, she said the situation is not problematic, adding that the rise in cases is not sustained and the hospitalization rate remains low.
She said that the areas outside the Philippine capital, except Mindanao in southern Philippines, also showed an uptick in cases.
Vergeire said that more than half of hospital admissions are symptomatic and mild, and only 11.3 percent of the total admissions are severe and critical.
Vergeire said there is still no need to tighten the pandemic restrictions. Most parts of the country, including Metro Manila, are now under alert level 1 on a scale of 5 due to slow infections.
The Philippines has reported nearly 3.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 60,461 deaths. The Southeast Asian country reported the highest single-day tally on Jan. 15 this year, with 39,004 new cases. ■