Philippines records 4,063 new COVID-19 cases, total now over 93k

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines grew to 93,354 on Friday after a record-high 4,063 new infections were recorded by the Department of Health (DOH).

According to the DOH, 1,705 of these are considered "fresh" or newly validated while 2,358 are reported late.

These confirmed cases that were added to the country's growing list of infected came from the records of 74 out of 91 operational laboratories.

About 94% or 3,813 of these infections occurred in July, of which 2,153 have been recorded in the National Capital Region, 558 in Central Visayas, and 492 in Calabarzon.

The COVID-19 survivors have increased to 65,178 after 165 more were tagged as recovered from the virus—extremely lower compared to the over 38,000 recoveries logged on Thursday due to DOH's "mass recovery" adjustment.

The death toll, on the other hand, grew to 2,023 after the DOH announced 40 new deaths—27 died in July, two in June, two in May , seven in April, and two in March.

Thirteen of these reported deaths took place in the National Capital Region, 12 in Central Visayas, seven in Central Luzon, two in Calabarzon, two in Western Visayas, two in the Davao region, one in MIMAROPA, and one in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The DOH also removed 83 duplicate cases from the total case count.

Experts from the University of the Philippines project that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country may climb to 150,000 by the end of August.

Utilization rates

According to the DOH, 54% of the total 1,400 ICU beds, 53% the 11,100 isolation beds, and 58% of the 4,000 ward beds dedicated for COVID-19 nationwide are occupied as of July 30. Seventy-one percent of the 2,000 mechanical ventilators are still available for use, it added.

The occupancy rate in the National Capital Region were higher.

Seventy-five percent of the 513 ICU beds and 85% of the 1,600 ward beds dedicated for COVID-19 in the region are occupied while 48% of the 766 ventilator units are in use. Eighty-two percent of the 3,300 isolation beds in Metro Manila are also occupied.

Over 1.3 million individuals in the country have taken the COVID-19 test, according to the DOH. —LDF, GMA News