The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines is higher than the combined tally of its neighbors in Southeast Asia, according to recent data from an independent regional tracker.
The ASEAN Post posted on Sunday, January 16 its latest tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region.
“DAILY SNAPSHOT: Total Cases crossed 15.70 million at 7:00 pm with more than 67,000 New Cases reported across Southeast Asia since our last update,” the post read.
DAILY SNAPSHOT: Total Cases crossed 15.70 million at 7:00 pm with more than 67,000 New Cases reported across Southeast Asia since our last update. #COVID19 #Pandemic #Omicron #ASEAN pic.twitter.com/0kdilaw2yf
— The ASEAN Post (@theaseanpost) January 16, 2022
The countries in Southeast Asia recorded a total of 67,182 additional coronavirus infections for that day.
Of these, the Philippines has the highest figures among its neighbors with 37,154 new COVID-19 cases.
Here is the breakdown of new COVID-19 cases per country:
- Indonesia – 855
- Philippines – 37,154
- Malaysia – 3,010
- Thailand – 8,077
- Vietnam – 16,378
- Myanmar – 170
- Singapore – 956
- Lao PDR or Laos – 538
- Cambodia – 23
- Brunei – 21
Meanwhile, there were 691,015 active COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia.
Of these numbers, the Philippines also surpassed its numbers with 287,856 active COVID-19 cases.
Here is the breakdown of active COVID-19 cases in the region:
- Indonesia – 8,605
- Philippines – 287,856
- Malaysia – 40,785
- Thailand – 80,546
- Vietnam – 254,418
- Myanmar – 2,626
- Singapore – 7,086
- Lao PDR – 8,059
- Cambodia – 679
- Brunei – 355
ASEAN’s data came from the tracker of World Health Organization.
Some social media users were alarmed by how the Philippines is faring compared to other countries in the region.
“Our new cases are higher than our neighbors COMBINED. We also have the MOST NUMBER of ACTIVE CASES than our neighbors,” statistician Peter Cayton said.
“We are now recording the most number of active cases in SE Asia,” wrote market surveillance analyst John Paul Tanyag, with Twitter handle @dumidyeypee.
Some users remarked that the country is number one again in terms of rising COVID-19 cases.
“Pelepens Numbah Wan!” one user said.
“Ano na Philippines #1 na naman tayo sa mga active cases. Ayaw talaga magpatalo sa mga kapitbahay sa ASEAN,” another user added.
Canada-based researcher named Madhu Pai previously shared a similar view on the country’s increasing COVID-19 cases.
Last January 9, Pai shared a screenshot of a graph from tracker Our World in Data where it showed the Philippines’ steep climb on January 7, 2022 from a nearly flattened curve of new infections from the previous months since June 2021.
“Philippines breaking all records,” he said in a tweet.
The graph shown in the image was the biweekly change of confirmed covid-19 cases where the growth rate of cases was measured “over the last 14 days relative to the number in the previous 14 days.”