Death toll from twin typhoons in Philippines rises to 259
The death toll from two recent powerful typhoons that swept across the Philippines has climbed to 259, with millions of people displaced, authorities said on Wednesday.
The Department of Health (DOH) in the Philippines reported 15,789 new Covid infections on Wednesday, raising the overall number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,475,293.
The DOH said the number of active cases dropped to 230,410, as the country’s positivity rate dipped further to 35.8 per cent from 37.2 per cent the previous day, Xinhua news agency reported.
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At least 66 more people died from Covid complications, pushing the country’s death toll to 53,664.
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The Philippines is ramping up the vaccination of its citizens amid the fast-spreading Omicron variant in communities, with over 57.5 million people fully vaccinated since the rollout in March last year.
The Philippines, which has around 110 million population, has tested more than 25 million people since the disease emerged. The country reported the highest single-day tally on January 15, with 39,004 new cases.
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