Philippines logs 582 new Covid-19 cases on Friday (Dec 17); top official warns people not to be complacent

Residents wearing face masks as a safety measure to curb the spread of the coronavirus attend the first of nine daily dawn masses before Christmas day at the St. Joseph Parish Church in suburban Las Pinas city, Philippines on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021. Filipinos attend nine consecutive dawn masses before Christmas as part of traditional Filipino practice in this largely Roman Catholic nation while the government closely monitors the first omicron virus variant detected on two international travelers in the country. - AP

MANILA, Dec 17 (Xinhua): The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 582 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,837,464.

The DOH also reported that 74 more people died from Covid-19 complications, bringing the country's death toll to 50,570.

The Philippines surpassed the 100-million mark of the total doses of the Covid-19 vaccines administered since the vaccination started on March 1.

As of Dec 16, over 43 million people have been fully vaccinated.

The government added that more than 1 million have been given booster doses.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the vaccination milestone must not lull the people into complacency, warning the virus is still around with the looming threat of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

"We will continue to ramp up our vaccination efforts and call on those unvaccinated to get their jabs as soon as possible to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their community," he said.

The Philippines has detected two Omicron variant cases, and the DOH reported below 1,000 daily cases since Nov 24.

The Philippines, with an around 110 million population, has tested more than 23 million people since the pandemic. - Xinhua