Philippines' COVID-19 tally surpasses 1 million with 8,929 new cases

The Philippines' COVID-19 tally crossed one million on Monday as the Department of Health announced 8,929 new infections, bringing the country's total to 1,006,428.

This as two molecular laboratories were not operational, while nine labs failed to submit data on time.

The DOH said the new infections brought the total active cases in the country to 74,623 -- 95.4% of which were mild, 1.4% were asymptomatic, 1.3% were severe, and 1% were critical cases.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries climbed to 914,952 after 11,333 more patients defeated the respiratory illness.

The death toll rose to 16,853 with 70 new fatalities.

Earlier this month, the OCTA Research group said the country is projected to have more than one million COVID-19 cases before the end of April as the country continues to grapple with a surge in infections.

The DOH said 23 duplicates were removed from the total case count, while 27 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

Data from the DOH showed that 64% of the country’s intensive care unit beds are utilized, while 45% of the mechanical ventilators are also in use.

Earlier in the day, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the health department is "doing its best for it to be able to protect public health, expand the health system capacity and to manage the public health emergency."—LDF, GMA News