The Philippines on Saturday tallied 5,000 COVID cases in a day and confirmed the first case of the Brazil COVID variant as it battles a fresh surge just days since the anniversary of the first lockdown.
The Department of Health reported 5,000 cases, bringing the running total to 616,611. Also on Saturday, the DOH reported 72 deaths and 281 recoveries. There are 56,579 active cases.
It was the highest single day infections in 2021, breaking the record set in the previous day. Until late last week, the Philippine reported 1,500 to 2,000 daily infections.
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The DOH also confirmed its first case of the Brazil COVID variant, known as P1, which caused a surge in infections in the South American nation, pushing its resources to the brink.
The Brazil variant was confirmed in a returning overseas Filipino from the Western Visayas. It declined to give further details. The DOH also confirmed 59 new cases of the UK variant and 32 cases of the South African variant.
On Monday, a two-week long curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be implemented in Metro Manila, where localized lockdowns are also being implemented.
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