COVID-19 cases in PH almost at 300,000 after 2,600 new infections recorded
The number of COVID-19 cases in the country is approaching the 300,000 mark after more than 2,600 new infections were recorded Friday.
The Department of Health reported 2,630 newly confirmed cases, taking the nationwide cumulative tally to 299,361 – 61,766 active cases or patients currently undergoing treatment; 87 percent have mild symptoms, nine percent are asymptomatic, 2.8 percent are in critical condition, and 1.2 percent are in severe condition.
This is the fourth straight day that newly-reported cases were below 3,000.
Metro Manila had the most number of new infections at 1,091, followed by Cavite with 196, Laguna with 171, Negros Occidental with 142, and Rizal with 141.
The DoH also announced that 494 more patients have recovered while 69 more patients have died, pushing the number of recoveries to 232,399 and deaths to 5,196.
“Of the 69 deaths, 43 occurred in September, eight in August, seven in July, 10 in June, and one in May,” the DoH said, noting that half of the new fatalities were from Metro Manila.
It was noted that three laboratories were “not able to submit their data” on time to the DoH system. These are Daniel O. Mercado Medical Center, Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, and Safeguard DNA Diagnostics.
There are 133 laboratories nationwide that are licensed to perform COVID-19 tests.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines is projected to jump 310,000 to 330,000 cases by the end of this month, based on the estimates made by experts from the University of the Philippines-OCTA Research Group.