4,002 new cases bring Philippines’ COVID-19 tally over 147,000

There are now 147,526 Filipinos nationwide infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 4,002 new cases on Thursday, the second day in a row in which over 4,000 new infections were reported.

The bulk of the newly reported cases still hailed from the epicenter Metro Manila at 2,445, followed by Laguna with 319 new infections, Cebu province with 212, Rizal with 142, and Cavite with 101.

Eighty-three percent or 3,304 of the newest cases contracted COVID-19 in the past 14 days, between July 31 and August 13.

The total number of recoveries also rose to 70,387 after 1,403 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness, while the death toll climbed to 2,426 with 23 new fatalities.

Among the newly reported deaths, 13 occurred in August, six in July, one in June, two in April while the remaining patient died in March.

There are also 74,713 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 91.2 percent of which are mild, 7.3 percent are asymptomatic, 0.6 percent are severe, and 0.9 percent are in critical condition.

The DOH said figures reported on Thursday were based on data submitted by 93 out of the 100 operational laboratories while 225 duplicate cases were removed from the total tally of infections.

As of August 12, the Philippines had 105 licensed laboratories that had tested over 1.7 million individuals while 53 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 32 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration said there was still a possibility that a COVID-19 vaccine would be rolled out before the end of the year. 

Malacañang likewise expressed hope that a COVID-free Christmas is still a possibility.

However, Russia’s Sputnik V, the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive regulatory approval, is not expected to become available in the Philippines until April 2021. —LDF, GMA News