MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 5:15 p.m.) — With 291 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported on Tuesday, the number of confirmed infections in the Philippines surpassed the 5,000-mark.
In a matter of months, the new coronavirus has infected 5,223 individuals in the country, the Department of Health said in a bulletin.
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The Philippines has the highest number of confirmed infections in Southeast Asia. According to John Hopkins University coronavirus tally, Malaysia has 4,817 cases, Indonesia has 4,557 cases, Singapore has 2,918 cases while Thailand has 2,613 cases.
The COVID-19 outbreak has now claimed the lives of 335 individuals in the country after additional 20 fatalities were recorded.
Fifty-three more people have been cleared of the illness—the most number of recoveries reported in a day so far. In total, there are now 295 recovered patients in the country.
The increase in the number of recoveries can be attributed to the inclusion of the patients with mild or no symptoms who got better while in home quarantine in the DOH tally.
Meanwhile, 3,151 patients are still being treated in hospitals.
The government is expected to begin its expanded COVID-19 testing on Tuesday that will cover individuals who exhibit severe flu-like symptoms, the elderly, those with pre-existing health conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers with symptoms.
So far, 38,103 individuals have been tested in the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday reported that 44 more Filipinos abroad have been infected with COVID-19, taking the tally to 704. Of the number, 216 have recovered.
Four new deaths in the Americas and Europe were recorded. In total, 88 Filipinos have died from the new coronavirus.
Vaccine needed to fully halt spread of virus
The World Health Organization said the novel coronavirus is 10 times deadlier than the 2009 flu pandemic.
WHO said the “swine flu” or H1N1 outbreak, which was declared a pandemic in June 2009 and considered over by August 2010, killed 18,500 people. But the Lancet medical estimated the toll to be between 151,700 and 575,400.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “control measures must be lifted slowly and with control.”
“Ultimately, the development and delivery of safe and effective vaccine will be needed to fully interrupt transmission,” he said.
It may take at least 12 to 18 months before a coronavirus vaccine to be publicly available.
More than 1.9 million confirmed cases have been recorded since the virus first emerged in central China late last year. The worldwide death toll rose to over 119,000. — with report from Agence France-Presse
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