MANILA, Philippines — There are already signs of a “beginning surge” of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in parts of Metro Manila, as well as in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Region, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday. In a text message to INQUIRER.net, Duque said he was referring to “Regions 1, 2, CAR, and NCR.”He said areas in Metro Manila with signs of the beginning surge of COVID-19 cases are the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Marikina, Quezon, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Malabon. Duque stressed that the public should continue to observe health protocols especially in public places to prevent the spread of the virus. “We are ramping up our testing capacity, our daily testing output which on the average is about 34,000. As of Wednesday, the country has already logged a total of 452,988 COVID-19 cases, including 24,873 active cases, 419,282 recoveries, and 8,833 deaths.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 17, 2020 02:44 UTC