The country recorded 6,879 more coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases on Tuesday, August 3.
The new cases brought the Philippines' cumulative tally to 1,612,541, of which, 63,137 are active, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
“Nine laboratories were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Documentary Repository System,” the DOH noted.
Of the active cases, 94 percent have mild symptoms, 1.3 percent are asymptomatic, 1.2 percent are in critical condition, 2.1 percent are severe cases, and 1.46 percent are in moderate condition.
The DOH has yet to provide data on the areas with the highest number of new cases. But on Monday, August 2, most cases were recorded in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and Western Visayas, said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Another 48 lives were lost due to COVID-19. This brought the country’s death toll to 28,141, which is equivalent to 1.75 percent of the overall tally.
Meanwhile, the number of recoveries reached 1,521,263 with 6,337 more survivors.
“There is an increase in the number of cases and we need to address that. We need to do everything possible to reduce the transmission,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe.
“We know that in many situations, this increase in the number of cases is probably attributed to the presence of the Delta variant, which we know is significantly more transmissible than the previous Alpha and Beta variants,” he added.
Abeyasinghe said that it is important to break the chain of transmission.
“It is imperative that the focus on what needs to be done to break those chains of transmission: minimum public health standards, early testing, early quarantining to minimize the risk of household contacts,” he said.