Philippines averaged 131 COVID-19 deaths each day in August — DOH

The Philippines posted an average of 131 COVID-19 deaths each day last August when the country experienced an uptick in cases due to the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

In an online briefing, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the 131 deaths nearly matched the 135 fatalities per day recorded during the previous surge in April.

“At the national level, deaths have been increasing since the last week of July and the new peak was seen during the previous week with the incoming deaths report. This number is still expected to increase,” she said.

The country, meanwhile, posted an average of 40 deaths per day for the September 1 to 5 period.

“We are closely monitoring regions 3, 7, NCR, 4A, Caraga, 12, 1, and 10 as these are the regions which posted the highest total deaths for the first week of September,” Vergeire said.

The DOH reported 103 deaths on Monday, pushing the nationwide tally to 34,337. — RSJ, GMA News