Rizal under MECQ until end of August as PH tallies more than 10k cases for fifth day in a row
John Nickholai Echevarria — EIC │10 — St. Augustine
August 16 2021 — Rizal province will be joining 11 other areas under MECQ starting today until the end of August according to Presidential Spokesperson
Harry Roque during a briefing last August 13. Neighboring Metro Manila, meanwhile, will remain under the strictest ECQ until August 20 along with the province of Laguna.
The country has recorded an increase in cases which prompted Malacañang to impose stricter lockdowns recently. As of August 15, active cases have reached 102,748 as the country tallied 14,749 new cases and 10,720 recoveries. This is the second highest single-day tally of new covid cases just slightly short by around 500 compared to 15,310 tallied last April 2 — the
largest single-day tally to date.
This is the fifth time it exceeded 10,000 after tallies first breached the 10,000-mark once again last August 11.
The spike in cases is informally blamed on the presence of the Delta variant, with 807 detected so far. While DOH has yet to formally confirm that the variant is driving up figures, Health Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency is working under the assumption that there is already community transmission to formulate a better response.
The country has also declared its first case of the Lambda variant yesterday; a 35-year-old Filipino yet to be confirmed whether they are an ROF or a local.
According to data presented in their latest bulletin, the country’s positivity rate stands at 23.5% and mild and asymptomatic cases account for 97% of all active cases. ICU bed usage rates across the country are also inching closer to maximum capacity with 70% currently occupied nationwide.
