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Philippines’ COVID-19 cases rise to 6,710, recovered patients now 693


The number of patients who have recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) climbed to 693 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 39 new recoveries as cases nationwide rose to 6,710 with 111 new infections.

Nine more patients have also succumbed to the respiratory illness, bringing the death toll to 446.

The DOH clarified that the 139 new cases reported by the Cebu City government earlier in the day were not yet included in their Wednesday report since they had not yet verified the information. 

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 61,049 individuals had been tested for COVID-19 as of Tuesday night, 7,797 or 12.77 percent of whom tested positive while 53,147 or 87 percent were negative.

She explained that the reported number of confirmed cases differ from the number of people who have tested positive for the disease since results still need to undergo validation and processing.

Vergeire earlier said that the daily tally of COVID-19 cases this week may be affected by the temporary scale-down of operations at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine after some 40 staff tested positive for COVID-19. 

Despite the continued rise in cases, the DOH earlier noted that the doubling time of infections has slowed down to an average of five days from the previous three days. 

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to announce his final decision on the possible extension or modification of the Luzon-wide quarantine on Thursday. —LDF, GMA News

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