Philippines’ COVID-19 cases top 342,000

After a week of reporting less than 3,000 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday announced 3,564 new infections, bringing the national tally to 342,816.

The death toll also climbed to 6,332 with 11 new fatalities while the total number of recoveries rose to 293,152 after 150 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness.

Thirteen laboratories failed to submit their data on time.

Metro Manila still recorded the highest number of new infections at 1,344, followed by Cavite with 215, Laguna with 212, Rizal with 211, and Iloilo with 164.

Ninety percent or 3,197 of the newly reported cases contracted COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

“Eighty-nine duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 71 were recovered cases,” the DOH added.

The remaining 43,332 are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 83.9 percent of which are mild, 10.8 percent are asymptomatic, 1.7 percent are severe, and 3.6 percent are in critical condition.

As of October 11, the Philippines had 145 licensed laboratories that had tested over 3.9 million individuals while 47 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 22 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use.

The Philippines still has the highest number of COVID-19 cases across the Western Pacific Region, according to the World Health Organization.

The country also ranks 18th worldwide in the number of infections. —LDF, GMA News