The country's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases breached the 139,000-mark after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,987 more infections.
The new infections pushed the nationwide tally to 139,538 on Tuesday, August 11, the DOH case bulletin showed. The number of patients who are still undergoing treatment is at 68,794.
Most of the new cases were still found in Metro Manila at 1,510, followed by Cavite with 398 new infections, Laguna with 144, Iloilo with 135, and Cebu with 119.
The total number of recoveries increased to 68,432 after 280 more patients recovered from the dreaded illness. However, COVID-19 related deaths climbed to 2,312 with 19 new fatalities.
The DOH noted that of the newly reported deaths, eight happened this month, seven in July, one in June, and three in April.
"We have seen an increase in cases since mid-June. This can be attributed to enhanced surveillance and increased testing capacity which means we can now detect more cases more quickly," the DOH said in a statement.
The DOH also reiterated the importance of observing the basic precautionary measures as the rise in cases is "also a signal that the practice of minimum health standards should be strengthened."
"We continue to emphasize that the increase in cases is dependent on the strategies being implemented and the cooperation of the public in the conduct of these measures," it said.
"If we do not cooperate in the contact tracing initiatives, even in the quarantine and isolation protocols, we will not be successful in preventing further transmission in our communities," it added.