Philippines' COVID-19 active cases climb to over 90,000 with 6,666 new infections

The Philippines on Wednesday reported 6,666 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, bringing the total tally to 684,311, as seven laboratories failed to submit data on time.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), this pushed the number of active cases in the country to another record-high 91,754 for this year.

Of this, 95.3 percent are mild, 2.5 percent are asymptomatic, 0.9 percent are severe, and 0.8 percent are in critical condition.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 579,518 after 1,072 more patients recovered from the illness while the death toll rose to 13,039 with 47 new fatalities.

Eight duplicate cases were removed from the total case count.

“Moreover, 11 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation,” the DOH said.

Data from the DOH also showed that 71 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available while 51 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use.

Earlier, the Health Department said the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases being observed across the Philippines has surpassed the peak recorded in July and August last year.

OCTA Research is projecting a downtrend in the number of coronavirus cases in Metro Manila and its adjacent provinces, four weeks after the areas were placed in a “National Capital Region (NCR) Plus" bubble.

Meanwhile, the country has recorded 223 B.1.1.7 cases, 152 B.1.351 cases, one P.1 (Brazil variant) case, and 104 P.3 (variant first detected in the Philippines) cases as of March 20.—LDF, GMA News