Philippine COVID-19 tally rises to 304,226; over 19,000 new recoveries

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 304,226 on Sunday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,995 new infections, marking the sixth straight day in which less than 3,000 new cases were reported.

Metro Manila still recorded the highest number of newly reported cases at 1,065, followed by Cavite with 297, Bulacan with 180, Batangas with 157, and Laguna with 143.

Ninety percent or 2,694 of the newly reported cases contracted COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

Meanwhile, total recoveries jumped to 252,510 after 19,630 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.

The DOH reports time-based recoveries every Sunday as part of its “Oplan Recovery” initiative, where asymptomatic and mild cases are re-tagged as recovered after completing 14 days of quarantine without developing symptoms.

The death toll also climbed to 5,344 with 60 new fatalities, 37 of whom died in September, nine in August, 11 in July, and three from April and June.

“Moreover, 10 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified to deaths after final validation,” the DOH added.

The remaining 46,372 are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 86 percent of which are mild, 8.8 percent are asymptomatic, 1.6 percent are severe, and 3.7 percent are in critical condition.

As of September 26, the Philippines had 135 licensed laboratories that had tested over 3.4 million individuals while 46 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 23 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use. — DVM, GMA News