The surge has not peaked yet. The country is expected to exceed 20,000 new cases by January 7,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 10,775 new COVID-19 cases, the most  since October 12, 2021 when 12,159 fresh infections were logged.
With the additional coronavirus infections, the country now has 39,974 active cases , including 24,419 in Metro Manila.
The increase in infections comes as 14 cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, have so far been detected, of which 11 are imported and three are local cases.
The DOH said there is a high possibility of local transmission of the Omicron variant, following the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.