Philippines' 12,021 new COVID-19 cases push active tally past 81k

The Philippines on Wednesday reported 12,021 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, the highest daily infections recorded since April 10, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,688,040

According to the Department of Health (DOH), three laboratories failed to submit data on time.

The new infections also pushed the country’s active cases to 81,399, marking the first time active cases in the country surpassed 80,000 since April 24.

Of this, 94.8% are mild, 1.5% are asymptomatic, 1.6% are severe, and 1% are in critical condition.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 1,577,267 with 9,591 new ones while 154 new fatalities brought the death toll to 29,374.

A total of 137 duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count.

“Moreover, 3 cases previously tagged as recoveries have been validated to be active cases, and 112 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation,” the DOH said.

Data from the DOH showed that 68% of the intensive care unit beds nationwide are in use while 49% of the mechanical ventilators are occupied.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), 69% of the ICU beds are being utilized by patients while 51% of the mechanical ventilators are in use.

The OCTA Research group earlier said that though the reproduction number of the coronavirus has gone down to 1.74 in NCR, it is too early to say whether this marked the start of a new COVID-19 case trend. —NB, GMA News