MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippines on Monday announced 665 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily tally since June last year, data from the health department showed as the government's 3-day national vaccination drive began.

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Of the 2,832,375 total recorded cases, 16,289 or 0.6 percent were active infections, according to the latest Department of Health (DOH) bulletin.

The number of fresh cases is the lowest since June 28 last year when 642 cases were recorded, said the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group, citing DOH data adjusted for duplicate cases.

The day's number of active infections is also the lowest since June 7 last year when the DOH logged 16,183 active cases, the research group added.

COVID-related deaths increased by 141 to 48,501.

There were also 993 more recoveries, raising the total number of recuperations to 2,767,585.

Ten duplicates were removed from the total case count, including 8 recoveries and one death, according to the DOH. Eighty-seven cases classified as recoveries were "found to have tested negative and have been removed from the total case count," it said.

A total of 129 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation, it added.

The positivity rate was at 2.1 percent, based on test results of samples from 32,639 individuals on Nov. 27, Saturday. This is the second lowest since testing data became available in April 2020, according to Edson Guido, head of ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team.

Two laboratories were non-operational on Saturday while three others were unable to submit their data, the DOH said. The five laboratories contribute on average 0.3 percent of samples tested and 0.5 percent of positive cases.

The intensive care unit (ICU) bed utilization rate in Metro Manila and nationwide was at 27 percent each.

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As the country kicked off its national vaccination drive which aims to inoculate 9 million more people against COVID-19 during its 3-day run, the DOH called for tight enforcement of border controls and local case findings following the classification of Omicron as a variant of concern.

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The government has so far banned travelers from seven European countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy) and seven African nations (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique) until Dec. 15.

• PH widens Red List, bars travel from 7 European countries amid Omicron threat

The B.1.1.529 has 50 mutations, of which 30 are found in the spike protein region, which may possibly cause "increased transmissibility and immune evasion," according to the DOH.

Preliminary evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron, the World Health Organization said.

• WHO: Initial evidence suggests increased risk of reinfection due to Omicron