16,907 new Philippine COVID-19 cases reported; total cases at 2,470,175

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reported 16,907 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections as four laboratories failed to submit data on time.

According to the DOH, this brought the nationwide tally to 2,470,175.

The country’s active cases also rose to 165,092, of which 81.3% are mild, 13.3% are asymptomatic, 1.6% are severe, and 0.7% are in critical condition.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 2,267,678 after 27,120 more patients recovered from the illness.

Meanwhile, the death toll remained at 37,405 after the DOH reported no new fatalities for the second straight day due to technical issues.

The DOH said the Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently addressing the issues.

“When the issue is resolved, the succeeding increase in deaths in the following reports will be due to the previous days' backlogs,” the Health Department explained.

Sixty duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count.

Based on reports from September 23, the Philippines was also able to test 74,606 individuals, of whom 23.6% tested positive for the illness.

Meanwhile, the country’s intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients remain at high risk. High risk means the occupancy rate is more than 70% but less than 85%.

Around 76% of the total 4,400 ICU beds in the country are occupied while 76% of the 1,600 beds in the National Capital Region (NCR) are in use.

Data also showed that 70% of the 16,000 ward beds in the Philippines are being utilized while 68% of the 4,500 ward beds in NCR are in use.

Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III, meanwhile, earlier said that the government is inclined to extend the pilot implementation of the new alert level system in NCR until October. — DVM, GMA News