Cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which forced the Philippine government to impose a severe lockdown in many areas, including the National Capital Region four years ago, are averaging 36 cases a day, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.

In a statement, the DOH noted how the country has seen an improvement as compared to during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, which saw an average of 34,903 new cases per day as of January 2022.

"Moving forward, we have learned our lessons and we now know better," said Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa.

The DOH said out of the 1,185 dedicated COVID-19 ICU beds, only 10 percent were occupied.

The health care utilization was at its highest occupancy of total COVID-19 beds at 71 percent back in September 2021. The occupancy rate of ICU beds was at 74 percent.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lifted the State of Public Health Emergency throughout the Philippines due to COVID-19 in July 2023. DMS