The country hits another single-day record as nearly 2,500 people were confirmed to be positive with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The Department of Health’s (DOH) latest case bulletin showed that 2,434 new infections were recorded, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 44,254 since the illness was first detected in the country last January.
The new confirmed cases beat the previous record last July 3 at 1,531 infections.
Of the new confirmed cases, 1,147 are “fresh” while 1,287 are “late” cases, or test results released to patients four days ago or more.
The DOH said 440 of the fresh cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR), 364 from Central Visayas, 366 from other areas, and seven were repatriates.
Meanwhile, 629 of the late cases came from NCR, 238 from Central Visayas, and 420 from other regions.
The Philippines, meanwhile, logged another record high for recoveries with 489 new recovered patients, raising the tally to 11,942. The previous record-high was also last July 3 at 400 recoveries.
The death toll, however, is now at 1,297 as seven more fatalities were reported.
There are 3,421 healthcare workers who have contracted COVID-19, of which 2,643 have recovered and 34 have died as of July 3, the DOH said.
Meanwhile, the agency said there are 29,087 active cases with 94.3 percent of the figure exhibiting mild symptoms as of July 4.
As of July 3, the country has a total of 75 licensed laboratories for COVID-19, wherein the total number of samples tested is now at 798,560, while the unique individuals tested are now at 738,620.
“As the country continues to ease community quarantine measures, the rise in the number of cases today may be attributed to the increased contact among the population,” the DOH said.
“We implore the public to continue practicing general preventive measures, such as proper handwashing, physical distancing, wearing of face mask, avoidance of non-essential travel outside their homes, and to observe minimum health standards to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus,” it added.
The DOH also appealed to all establishments to implement the minimum health standards “in their premises and immediately report clustering of confirmed cases in their respective workplaces.”
Experts from the University of the Philippines projected that the number of COVID-19 infections may reach 60,000 by the end of this month.