New Philippine COVID-19 infections hit 19,271; active cases at 178,196

The Philippines reported 19,271 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, raising the number of active cases in the country to 178,196.

The Department of Health said the new cases brought the country's total COVID-19 caseload to 2,366,749.

Of the 178,196 active cases, 92.3% are mild, 3.1% are asymptomatic, 2.6% are moderate, and 0.6% are in critical condition.

Total recoveries, meanwhile, increased to 2,151,765 after 25,037 more patients defeated the respiratory illness.

The death toll rose to 36,788 with 205 new fatalities.

The DOH said 72 duplicates were removed from the total case count, while 94 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

The DOH said all laboratories were operational on September 17, while two laboratories were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System.

Further, data from the DOH also showed that 77% of the country’s intensive care unit beds were utilized, while 56% of the mechanical ventilators were also in use.

In Metro Manila, 77% of the ICU beds were in use, while 61% of the ventilators were utilized. — DVM, GMA News