Philippine COVID-19 cases breach 410,000 with 1,148 new infections

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 410,718 on Tuesday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 1,148 new infections due to relatively lower data submission from laboratories.

“The relatively lower number of additional cases reported today is attributed to the lower laboratory submission compliance (81.33%) for November 15 compared to the previous day (90.91%), and the previous week (88.27%),” the DOH said.

Cavite tallied the highest number of new cases at 88, followed by Quezon City with 52, Rizal with 46, Baguio City with 44, and Manila City with 44.

Meanwhile, total recoveries increased to 374,543 after 186 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.

The death toll also climbed to 7,862 with 23 new fatalities.

The remaining 28,313 are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 83.6 percent of which are mild, 8.2 percent are asymptomatic, 2.9 percent are severe, and 5.1 percent are in critical condition.

Experts from the OCTA Research group earlier reported that the positivity rate in Metro Manila, the country’s COVID-19 epicenter, has fallen below the World Health Organization’s benchmark to 4 percent. 

However, Baguio and Davao City were flagged as areas of urgent concern due to their rising number of infections.

"We are concerned that these LGUs may experience high hospital burden in the coming weeks that may stress their health care systems and overwhelm their medical frontliners," they said.—LDF, GMA News