18,659 new COVID-19 cases push Philippines' active tally over 175K

The Philippines’ tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases rose to 2,453,328 on Friday with 18,659 new infections as one laboratory failed to submit data on time.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), this brought the nation’s active cases to 175,324.

Of this, 88.1% are mild, 6.9% are asymptomatic, 1.5% are severe, and 0.7% are in critical condition.

DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 2,240,599 with 9,088 new ones.

Meanwhile, the death toll remained at 37,405 after the DOH reported no new fatalities due to technical issues.

“No deaths were reported today due to technical issues in COVIDKaya. The Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently addressing issues encountered by the system,” the DOH said.

Eighty-four duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count.

Based on reports on September 22, the Philippines was also able to test 76,624 individuals, of which 24.2% tested positive for the illness.

Meanwhile, the country’s intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients remain at high risk.  High risk means the occupancy rate is more than 70% but less than 85%.

Around 77% of the total 4,400 ICU beds in the country are occupied while 76% of the 1,600 beds in the National Capital Region (NCR) are in use.

Data also showed that 70% of the 16,000 ward beds in the Philippines are being utilized while 68% of the 4,500 ward beds in NCR are in use.

The DOH earlier said that active cases in the NCR could reach 58,117 by September 30 before dropping to 54,780 by October 15 and 46,563 by October 31.—LDF, GMA News