The Philippines on Friday logged 582 new COVID-19 cases a week before Filipinos' second Christmas under coronavirus restrictions.
The day's tally brought active cases to 10,167, with a total of 494 new recoveries and 74 new deaths reported.
Overall, a total of 2,837,464 COVID-19 cases have been reported since the pandemic began in March 2020, of which 2,776,727 have recovered and 50,750 died.
Alert Level 2 for the entire country is set to last until Dec. 31 despite the detection of Omicron locally. The two cases, both international arrivals, were detected from the 48 samples sequenced on Tuesday, the Department of Health said. The two are in isolation at a Bureau of Quarantine facility.
To keep safe against Omicron this Christmas, the Department of Health advised Filipinos to skip buffets and keep holiday gatherings to a minimum. Unvaccinated kids are urged to meet relatives virtually to minimize risk of infection.
Religious services indoors are allowed up to 50% of venue capacity under Alert Level 2, with malls permitted to hold Simbang Gabi for devotees. Check out the list of malls.
MORE ON OMICRON:
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Omicron Might Evade Antibodies, But That Doesn't Mean You Don't Have Immunity
