Philippines logs 1,301 new COVID-19 cases, total exceeds 448,000

Manila [Philippines], December 12 (ANI/Xinhua): The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines on Saturday reported 1,301 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection, bringing the total number in the country to 448,331.
The DOH said 111 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 409,433. The death toll climbed to 8,730 after 35 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH added.
The DOH said Metro Manila tops the regions with active and new coronavirus cases, followed by the provinces south and north of the capital on the main island of Luzon.
The DOH said it had tested over 5.79 million people so far. The Philippines has a population of about 110 million.
The OCTA Research team composed of experts from the universities has noted an increase in infection in Metro Manila in the first part of this month.
From 0.90 on December 1, the team said Metro Manila's reproduction number hit 0.94 on December 5, then climbed to 0.96 on December 10. The reproduction number was 0.88 in November.
"We think this will pass 1 by next week," Guido David, a professor at the University of the Philippines and a member of the team, added.
The experts have earlier warned of the possibility of a spike in cases during the holiday season.
Despite repeated warnings, people continue to flock to the malls to do their Christmas shopping, disregarding social distancing and wearing the mask improperly.
This week a government team led by Health Secretary Francisco Duque has been doing the rounds of shopping malls to drill into the minds of people the importance of social distancing and not to let their guard down during the holidays. (ANI/Xinhua)