Philippine COVID-19 tally exceeds 591,000 with 3,439 new cases

The Philippines broke its 2021 record for the highest number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in a single day with 3,439 new infections, bringing the total to 591,138 on Saturday, with nine laboratories failing to submit data on time.

This marks the second consecutive day in which more than 3,000 daily cases have been recorded. The previous highest recorded daily case count for this year was 3,045 cases on Friday.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), total recoveries also rose to 535,350 after 160 more patients recovered from the illness.

Meanwhile, 42 new fatalities brought the death toll to 12,465.

Five duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count while 15 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths.

There are also 43,323 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, of which 90 percent are mild, 5.6 percent are asymptomatic, 1.8 percent are severe, and 1.8 percent are in critical condition.

Data from the DOH also showed that 60 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available while 78 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use.

The DOH earlier confirmed the upward trend in the number of COVID-19 hospital confinements in the past weeks.

However, the agency dismissed the idea that there was a second wave of COVID-19 cases across the country. — DVM, GMA News