MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippines on Monday logged 37,070 fresh COVID-19 cases, the 6th consecutive day it logged more than 30,000 new infections, data from the health department showed.

The positivity rate was at a high 46 percent, based on samples of 77,410 individuals on Jan. 15, Saturday.

Twelve laboratories, which contribute on average 5.1 percent of samples tested and 5.1 percent of positive cases, were unable to submit their data, the DOH said.

Of the newly reported cases, 36,001 or 97 percent occurred within the recent 14 days while Metro Manila (13,061 cases), Calabarzon (9,048 cases) and Central Luzon (4,173 cases) were the top regions with cases in the last two weeks, the DOH added.

The number of fresh cases is also the fourth highest since the pandemic began, according to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group. The country announced a record-high 39,004 new cases on Saturday, 37,207 on Friday, and 37,154 on Sunday.

The Philippines has so far tallied 3,242,374 cases, of which 290,938 or 9 percent are active infections.

The number of active cases is the highest on record, surpassing 287,856 infections announced on Sunday, the ABS-CBN IRG said.

Of the active infections, 277,020 or 95.22 percent are mild cases, 9,187 or 3.16 percent are asymptomatic, 2,947 or 1.01 percent are moderate cases, 1,480 or 0.51 percent are severe cases, and 304 or 0.10 percent are critical cases, the research group added.

COVID-related deaths increased by 23, resulting in a total of 52,929 fatalities. This is the lowest figure since Jan. 9, when 15 deaths were announced, according to the ABS-CBN IRG.

Of the new deaths, 20 occurred this month, 1 in September 2021, 1 in April 2021, and 1 in September 2020, the DOH said, citing late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya.

There were 33,940 more recoveries, raising the total number of recuperations to 2,898,507. This is the highest since Oct. 3, when the DOH announced 45,249 recoveries, the research group said.

The intensive care unit (ICU) bed utilization rate in Metro Manila and nationwide was at 58 percent and 49 percent, respectively.

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Government on Monday enforced its "no vaccination, no ride" policy in Metro Manila which prohibits the unvaccinated to avail of public transportation.

Majority of commuters have expressed their willingness to comply with the policy, said Elvira Medina, chairperson of the National Center for Commuter Safety and Protection.

• 'No vax, no ride,' ipinapatupad na
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The reproduction rate of COVID-19 in the capital region has decreased to 2.67 from 6, according to Professor Guido David of OCTA Research.

• Metro Manila's COVID-19 growth rate down to –1 percent: OCTA

The trend in virus cases still needs to be observed for another week or so to determine if it is really declining, David said.