2,109 new COVID-19 cases push Philippines’ total to over 523,000

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reported 2,109 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, bringing the nationwide total to 523,516, as six laboratories failed to submit data on time.

According to the DOH, total recoveries also rose to 475,904 after 146 more patients recovered from the illness while 71 new fatalities brought the death toll to 10,669.

Six duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count while five cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as fatalities.

Of the remaining 36,943 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 85.2 percent are mild, 9.7 percent are asymptomatic, 2.1 percent are severe, and 2.6 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.

Earlier, the DOH said it does not see the need yet to recommend the wearing of double face masks by the public, amid concerns on the more infectious coronavirus variants emerging in some countries.

Some experts have approved doubling the layer of face-covering to better protect people from catching the virus, such as the top medical adviser on COVID-19 of the United States government. -MDM, GMA News