The Department of Health (DOH) recorded a total of 3,356 new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on Monday, which is the fourth straight day that the country has seen more than 3,000 cases of the virus daily.

The 3,356 Covid-19 cases tallied on Monday bring the total number of virus cases in the country to 597,763, of which 39,330 are active cases. It also recorded 61 new recoveries and five deaths, bringing the total to 545,912 and 12,521, respectively.

As for the new variants, the DOH observed an increase for that or a total of 118 cases of which 60 were caused by the United Kingdom variant and 58 by the South African variant. There are fears the new variants are fueling an increase in Covid-19 cases nationwide.

Last week, a research group monitoring the Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines warned of a spike in virus cases in the Philippines, saying daily cases could possibly hit 5,000 to 6,000 by the end of March. It added that Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) can possibly account for the bulk of Covid-19 case increases.

“[B]ased on the current reproduction number, NCR is projected to have 2,000 new COVID-19 cases per day by March 21 and 3,000 new cases per day by March 31, while the country is projected to have 5,000 to 6,000 new cases per day by the end of March,” Octa Research said.