KEY POINTS

  • 17 children tested positive for COVID-19 in Tarlac City
  • Most of the children are either hospitalized with COVID-19 or under quarantine
  • The Philippines currently has a 35.2% positivity rate

A newborn baby in the Philippines has tested positive for COVID-19 as infections continue to surge across the country.

The 1-day-old baby from La Paz town in Tarlac City, Pampanga, was confined to the hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Health officials did not specify the child’s health condition.

The baby was one of the eight infants and nine children who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. A 25-day-old boy from the municipality of Concepcion, a 1-month-old boy from Capas town and three 1-year-old girls with mild symptoms were also hospitalized with COVID-19.

On Tuesday, health officials said an 8-month-old baby was hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19. A 1-year-old boy who tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic is currently under quarantine, according to Inquirer.net.

The nine children who tested positive for COVID-19 were between the ages of 2 and 10. The children are either admitted to hospitals or quarantined.

Tarlac City on Wednesday registered 232 additional COVID-19 cases, including those of the eight infants and nine children, and 1 death that occurred in a 69-year-old man. The city has now reported a total of 21,977 infections and 848 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Across the province of Pampanga, health officials reported a total of 72,335 COVID-19 cases and 2,816 mortalities. At least 489 new cases and 301 deaths were reported Tuesday. The province currently has 5,540 active cases of COVID-19.

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Nationwide, health officials recorded 18,191 new cases and 74 additional deaths Tuesday. This brings the country’s total tally to 3,493,447 COVID-19 infections and 53,736 deaths. The Philippines currently has a 35.2% positivity rate.

The regions with the highest number of coronavirus cases over the past two weeks were Region 4-A, with 2,101 and Metro Manila with 2,073.

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The highly transmissible Omicron variant remains the dominant strain in the country. The variant was detected in 91.29% of 677 COVID-19 samples tested as of Thursday. The majority of the samples also had the BA.2 subvariant, which is also called the “stealth Omicron.”

Aside from the Maronites and a small but ancient Latin community, the remainder of Cyprus's Catholic minority is made up largely of workers from the Philippines and South Asia, as well as African migrants
Aside from the Maronites and a small but ancient Latin community, the remainder of Cyprus's Catholic minority is made up largely of workers from the Philippines and South Asia, as well as African migrants AFP / Amir MAKAR