Philippines' COVID-19 cases nears 300K with 2,630 new infections

The Philippines announced on Friday 2,630 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 299,361, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

This marks the fourth consecutive day where less than 3,000 cases were reported.

The DOH also reported that total recoveries rose to 232,399 after 494 more patients have recovered from the illness.

A total of 69 new fatalities brought the death toll to 5,196. Forty-three of the new deaths occurred in September, eight in August, seven in July, 10 in June, and one in May.

There are 61,766 active cases still undergoing treatment or quarantine. Of this, 87 percent are mild, 9 percent are asymptomatic, 1.2 percent are severe, and 2.8 percent are in critical condition.

Most of the newly reported cases came from the National Capital Region with 1,091, followed by Cavite with 196, Laguna with 171, Negros Occidental with 142, and Rizal with 141.

Eighty-eight percent or 2,630 of the new cases acquired the virus in the past 14 days. A total of 24 cases were also removed from the total case count.

At present, the Philippines has 133 licensed laboratories that have tested over 3.3 million individuals while 48 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients are occupied while 24 percent of mechanical ventilators are in use.

Meanwhile, the clinical trials for anti-flu drug Avigan as a treatment for COVID-19 has yet to start in the Philippines because some legal documents are still being ironed out.—LDF, GMA News