Philippines’ COVID-19 cases soar to 226,440 with 2,218 new infections

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines soared to 226,440 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,218 new infections, the lowest since July.

Metro Manila logged the highest number of new cases at 1,163, followed by Laguna with 112, Cebu with 107, Iloilo with 82, and Negros Occidental with 81.

Eighty-seven percent or 1,932 of the newly reported cases contracted COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries rose to 158,610 after 609 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.

The death toll also climbed to 3,623 with 27 new fatalities.

The other 64,207 are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 91.2 percent of which are mild, 6.4 percent are asymptomatic, 1 percent are severe, and 1.4 percent are in critical condition.

As of September 1, the Philippines had 114 licensed laboratories that had tested over 2.4 million individuals while 47 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 28 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use.

As the country grapples with the coronavirus menace, the Senate recommended the appointment of a new DOH chief to replace the embattled Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who was tagged in the alleged anomalies hounding the state health insurer. —LDF, GMA News