1,301 new COVID-19 cases push total to over 448,000

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reported 1,301 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, bringing the nationwide tally to 448,331, as five laboratories failed to submit data on time.

Davao del Norte recorded the highest number of new cases on Saturday with 96. This was followed by Quezon City with 76, Laguna with 59, and Rizal and Western Samar with 50, each.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries rose to 409,433 after 111 more patients recovered from the illness while 35 new fatalities brought the death toll to 8,730.

Nine duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count.

“Moreover, there were 14 cases that were previously reported as deaths but after final validation, they were recovered cases. In Addition, 4 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths,” the DOH said.

Meanwhile, there are 30,168 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine. Of this, 85.8 percent are mild, 7 percent are asymptomatic, 2.3 percent are severe, and 4.6 percent are in critical condition.

Based on data from the DOH, 58 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available while 80 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use

The OCTA Research team earlier said that the number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region has been increasing in the first part of December. -MDM, GMA News