The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines reached over 1 million this Monday.
The Philippines is now the 26th country in the world to record more than 1 million cases while second in Southeast Asia.
This is after the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 8,929 additional cases for a total of 1,006,428.
Of that number, 74,623 are active cases or remain ill.
The total number of recoveries rose to 914,952 after the DOH reported 11,333 new recoveries on Monday.
The death toll also increased by 70 for a total of 16,853.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque stressed that it is not only the Philippines that is experiencing a surge or kick-off of COVID-19 cases due to the new variants.
The Palace also believes that the government has taken the right action in dealing with the pandemic and controlling the spread of the disease.
“Huwag ninyo pong titingnan lamang ang 1 million cases. Unang-una, halos 900,000 na po ang gumaling diyan so mga aktibong cases ay higit-kumulang 100,000,” said Roque.
COVID-19 cases in Philippines hit over 1 million
“So I don’t think it is a negative reflection. On the other hand, dahil nga po mayroon tayong world ranking, makikita po natin na we are managing still the new variants rather well,” he added.
Deficiencies in the health care system, ineffective contact tracing, and delicate balance in health and economy are the obvious reasons why COVID-19 cases have reached 1 million in the Philippines.
Contact tracing is one of the most important measures against COVID-19 but doctors themselves have criticized its practice.
It is often said that the information obtained by contact tracers is not enough to determine who else has exposure to a positive for the disease.
“You want to really trace kung sino ang exposed, pero kung hindi mo kinukuha itong information na ito, what information are we getting? So it becomes futile, that kind of contact tracing,” said Philippine College of Physicians Vice President Dr. Maricar Limpin.
The target would have been to track down the 37 contacts of a COVID-19 patient but according to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the current high number of patients cannot be afforded.
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