Philippines logs 31,173 new COVID-19 cases

Manila [Philippines] January 20 (ANI/Xinhua): The Philippines reported 31,173 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, raising the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,324,478.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases rose to 275,364 from Wednesday's 270,728. The country's positivity rate slightly decreased to 43.3 percent from 43.5 percent the previous day.
The DOH said 110 more people died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 53,153. Of the 110 deaths, the DOH noted that 67 died this month; the rest died in previous months.
Guido David, a professor at the University of the Philippines and an OCTA research fellow, said COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila are decreasing. However, he added that the numbers are "still accelerating" in several cities, including those near the capital region.
Meanwhile, the national police said 844 areas in Metro Manila and other parts of the country with high virus clusters are under hard lockdown.
The DOH reported the highest single-day tally on January 15 with 39,004 new cases.
The Philippines, which has around 110 million population, has tested more than 24 million people since the outbreak. The number excludes the rapid antigen tests results. (ANI/Xinhua)