Philippines logs 1,894 new COVID-19 cases, death toll exceeds 45,000

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,894 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,813,115.

Manila [Philippines], Nov. 12 (ANI/Xinhua): The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,894 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,813,115. The DOH also reported that 170 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country's death toll to 45,035.

Starting Dec. 1, mandatory vaccination of all on-site employees will begin in areas with enough COVID-19 vaccine supply, said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. He said that "eligible employees who remain to be unvaccinated may not be terminated, but they shall be required to undergo regular RT-PCR (swab) testing, or antigen tests, at their own expense."

Public transport operators must inoculate all their eligible workers to be fully vaccinated as a condition to continue their operations, he added. "Public and private establishments may validly refuse entry and deny service to individuals who remain to be unvaccinated or are merely partially vaccinated," Roque said.

To ramp up demand for vaccination, he said local government units are strongly urged to issue orders or ordinances providing incentives for fully vaccinated individuals and business establishments. Carlito Galvez, the official in charge of vaccine procurement, said the Philippines received nearly 122 million doses of vaccines from various manufacturers as of Thursday. China is its biggest COVID-19 vaccine supplier.

The Philippines has administered nearly 67 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. More than 30 million people have been fully vaccinated. The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 per cent of its 110 million population this year. The emergence of the Delta coronavirus variant triggered a third wave of infections that peaked in September when the DOH reported its highest daily tally on September 11, with 26,303 cases. (ANI/Xinhua)

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