Philippines reports 5,221 new COVID-19 cases; active tally at 45k

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 1,490,665 on Thursday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 5,221 new infections as four laboratories failed to submit data on time.

According to the DOH, this brought the country’s active cases to 45,495.

Of this, 91.4% are mild, 2.1% are asymptomatic, 2.8% are severe, and 1.7% are in critical condition.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 1,418,856 after 4,147 more patients recovered from the illness.

Meanwhile, 82 new fatalities brought the death toll to 26,314.

Thirteen duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count. Of this, 10 were recoveries.

“Moreover, 52 cases previously tagged as recoveries have been validated to be active cases, and 46 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation,” the DOH said.

Data from the DOH showed that 56% of the intensive care unit beds nationwide are in use while 39% of the mechanical ventilators are occupied.

In the National Capital Region, 42% of the ICU beds are being utilized by patients while 35% of the mechanical ventilators are in use.

The Philippines has administered a total of 14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far, with at least four million people already fully vaccinated with two doses.—LDF, GMA News