3,226 new cases bring Philippines’ COVID-19 tally to 106,330

There are now 106,330 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 3,226 new cases on Monday.

This marks the fifth day in a row during which new infections breached the 3,000 mark after four straight days of record-high new cases. 

The Philippines remains close to having the highest number of COVID-19 cases across Southeast Asia after Indonesia with 111,455 infections.

The five provinces with the highest number of new cases were Metro Manila with 1,541, Cebu with 503, Laguna with 181, Rizal with 158, and Cavite with 129.

Total recoveries also rose to 65,821 after 275 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness, while the death toll climbed to 2,104 with 46 new fatalities.

The DOH said 37 of the newly reported deaths occurred in July, six in June, two in May, and one took place in March.

There are also 38,405 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 90.3 percent of which are mild, 8.2 percent are asymptomatic, 0.9 percent are severe, and 0.6 percent are in critical condition.

The DOH said figures reported on Monday were based on data submitted by 66 out of the 94 operational laboratories.

The department also removed 81 duplicate cases from the total tally of infections.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier reimposed the modified enhanced community quarantine over Metro Manila and neighboring areas following resounding calls by medical groups for a two-week “timeout” to arrest the continued surge in infections. 

Following this development, experts from the University of the Philippines said the projected number of COVID-19 cases nationwide by the end of August may be reduced by 50,000 to 70,000. —LDF, GMA News