Philippines’ COVID-19 cases exceed 521K with 1,849 new infections

The Philippines’ tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases rose to 521,413 on Friday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,849 new infections as eight laboratories failed to submit data on time.

According to the DOH, 177 more patients have recovered from the virus, bringing the total to 475,765, while the death toll climbed to 10,600 with 48 new fatalities.

Eleven duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count while two cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths.

There are also 35,048 remaining active cases undergoing treatment in quarantine, of which 85 percent are mild, 9.5 percent are asymptomatic, 2.2 percent are severe, and 2.9 percent are in critical condition.

Data from the DOH also showed that 58 percent of the country’s intensive care unit beds are available while 78 percent of the mechanical ventilators are ready for use.

Malacañang earlier announced that Metro Manila and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) will be under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the whole month of February.

The Palace also said the Philippines has decided not to extend past January 31 the travel restrictions on foreigners from over 30 countries that had recorded cases of new coronavirus variant.—LDF, GMA News