The Philippines on Thursday logged 562 new COVID-19 cases, as France was added to the arrivals ban to guard against the Omicron variant.
The day's tally brought active cases to 12,169, with a total of 882 new recoveries and 176 new deaths reported.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Philippines has reported a total of 2,835,996 COVID-19 cases of which 2,773,891 recovered and 49,936 died.
A total of 14 duplicates were removed from the case count. Of these, 12 are recoveries and 1 is a death.
Some 145 recoveries were found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count. There were 157 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries and reclassified as deaths after final validation.
Alert Level 2 restrictions for Metro Manila are set to expire on Dec. 15. While cases are on the decline, the public is strongly encouraged to avoid buffets and social gatherings over the holidays to prevent a surge.
BioNTech and Pfizer, the companies behind the Pfizer vaccine, earlier said that two doses may not be enough protection against the newer Omicron variant, stressing that it would still be effective after a third dose.
Health Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire warned of possible side effects if a person receives more than three doses, which is the number approved by regulators. The government started rolling out third dose or booster jabs to fully-vaccinated adults last Dec. 3, for those who have had a six-month interval from their second dose.
Authorities are also studying the possibility of annual or semi-annual administration of booster shots, depending on the immunity the vaccines provide and the emerging coronavirus variants.
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