The Philippines on Saturday logged 3,617 new COVID-19 cases as Filipinos greeted the new year with caution due to the looming threat of the Omicron variant.
The day's tally brought active cases to 17,374, with a total of 468 new recoveries and 43 new deaths reported.
Overall, a total of 2,847,486 COVID-19 cases have been reported since the pandemic began in March 2020, of which 2,778,567 have recovered and 51,545 died.
Metro Manila will be upgraded to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 starting Jan. 3 until Jan. 15 as the government remains on guard against a possible spike of cases.
Alert Level 3 means the operating capacities for restaurant dine-in, cinemas, and gyms will be reduced, and face-to-face class, funfairs, and contact sports will be prohibited.
READ: Alert Level 3 vs Alert Level 2, What Will Change?
Three local cases of the Omicron variant were reported on Friday, with the government warning of a "high possibility" of local transmission during the holidays.
In total, the Philippines has 14 confirmed Omicron variant cases, the Department of Health said.
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