MANILA — For the 15th straight day, newly confirmed coronavirus infections in the Philippines on Tuesday were fewer than 2,000, reaching only 1,118, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Of the additional COVID-19 cases, 89 came from Caloocan City, 52 from Davao City, 52 from Laguna, 47 from Quezon province, and 46 from Quezon City. The tally does not include data from 11 laboratories who failed to submit their results on time.

The cumulative total of the recorded cases in the country climbed to 421,722, of which, 6.3% or 26,745 are active infections.

Total recoveries went up by 196 to 386,792, and the death toll, by 12 to 8,185.

Of the active cases, 83.7% have mild symptoms, 7.9% are asymptomatic, 5.3% are in critical condition, 2.8% have severe symptoms and 0.25% have moderate symptoms.

The DOH removed 10 cases, 2 tagged as recovered, that were found out to be duplicate entries. There were also 6 recovered cases that had to be reclassified as deaths.

Health officials said this week that the COVID-19 cases in the Philippines have “plateaued” although they are monitoring certain areas including Davao City and Cebu City that reported a surge in infections.

They also warned against the possible increase in cases because of the holiday season, prompting advisories against shopping in crowded places and attending family reunions.

Instead, virtual gatherings and online shopping could serve as alternatives, experts said, as people are still reminded to observe physical distancing and wearing of face masks.

• Expert urges Filipinos: Avoid Christmas gatherings, COVID-19 vaccines are coming
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Since the start of the pandemic, 59.1 million people have been infected by the COVID-19 virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard. Of those, almost 1.4 million have died and almost 37.9 million have recovered.

The Philippines' first COVID-19 case was recorded on Jan. 30 in a Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan City, China where the disease is believed to have first emerged.

Recently, vaccine developers Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca have announced encouraging results of their respective products' clinical trials as far as efficacy is concerned.