Philippines records 1,635 new COVID-19 cases as deaths top 5,000

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 291,789 on Tuesday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 1,635 new infections, the second lowest single-day tally recorded this month.

The death toll climbed to 5,049 with 50 new fatalities, 38 of whom died in September, eight in August, three in July, and one in April.

“Moreover, 17 cases previously reported as recovered were reclassified as death (1) and active (16) cases,” the DOH said.

Metro Manila still logged the highest number of new infections at 583, followed by Cavite with 102, Iloilo with 97, Rizal with 67, and Cebu with 57.

Eighty-eight percent or 1,435 of the newly reported cases caught COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

The DOH said nine laboratories failed to submit their data on time.

Meanwhile, total recoveries rose to 230,643 after 450 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.

A total of 56,097 are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 86.4 percent of which are mild, 9.2 percent are asymptomatic, 1.3 percent are severe, and 3.1 percent are in critical condition.

As of September 21, the Philippines had 130 licensed laboratories that had tested over 3.2 million individuals while 48 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 27 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use.

The Philippine College of Physicians earlier warned the public against complacency amid the pandemic after it observed a rise in severe COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. —LDF, GMA News