DOH confirms 21K new cases of COVID-19; death toll exceeds 36K

The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed 21,261 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Thursday, Sept. 16.
The number of infections recorded since last year is now at 2,304,192. At least seven percent of the case total or 177,946 are still receiving medical treatment.
Of the active cases, the DOH said that 86.1 percent have mild infection, 9.2 percent are asymptomatic, 0.6 percent are critical, 1.4 percent are severe, and 2.65 percent are in moderate condition.
Since last year, there have been 36,018 deaths linked to COVID-19, including the 277 fatalities reported on Thursday. The death toll represents 1.56 percent of the total case count.
The newly announced deaths include the 174 cases previously tagged as recoveries but were later on found as deaths after final validation, the DOH said.
Ninety percent of the total case count or 2,090,228 were tagged as recoveries. This figure includes the 13,644 more survivors logged on Thursday.
The DOH reminded the public anew to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the viral illness. It also reminded the public that it is normal for them to experience "reactions" from vaccines.
"These reactions are expected. They signify that the body is building an immune response. But our bodies react differently to the vaccine. Others may experience untoward reactions while others do not. Regardless, it is just as effective," the DOH said.