2,638 new COVID-19 cases push Philippine tally near 360,000

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 359,169 on Monday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,638 new infections as 16 laboratories were unable to submit data on time.

Quezon City logged the highest number of newly reported cases at 141, followed by Cavite with 140, Laguna with 128, Batangas with 120, and Rizal with 108.

Seventy-three percent or 1,932 of the latest infections caught COVID-19 within the past 14 days.

Total recoveries also rose to 310,303 after 226 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease, while the death toll climbed to 6,675 with 26 new fatalities.

There are also 42,191 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 83.1 percent of which are mild, 11.3 percent are asymptomatic, 2.1 percent are severe, and 3.6 percent are in critical condition.

As of October 18, the Philippines had 147 licensed laboratories that had tested over 4.1 million individuals while 46 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 22 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use.

Worldwide, COVID-19 has claimed 1,111,364 lives and infected over 39.9 million people. 

The Philippines still has the 20th highest number of infections across the globe.—LDF, GMA News