Philippines’ COVID-19 cases near 300k with 2,180 new infections

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 296,755 on Thursday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,180 new infections, marking the third consecutive day in which less than 3,000 new cases were reported.

Metro Manila still logged the highest number of newly reported cases at 802, followed by Laguna with 292, Batangas with 152, Cavite with 144, and Negros Occidental with 87.

Eighty-four percent or 1,825 of the newly reported cases contracted COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

Meanwhile, total recoveries rose to 231,928 after 580 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness.

The death toll also climbed to 5,127 with 36 new fatalities, 23 of whom died in September while the rest succumbed to COVID-19 between April and August.

“Moreover, 18 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified to deaths (17) and an active (1) case,” the DOH added.

There are also 59,700 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 86.6 percent of which are mild, 9.2 percent are asymptomatic, 1.3 percent are severe, and 2.9 percent are in critical condition.

As of September 23, the Philippines had 131 licensed laboratories that had tested over 3.3 million individuals while 48 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 24 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use. -MDM, GMA News