COVID-19 infections in Philippines climb to 11,618
MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 4:39 p.m.) — The Philippines registered 268 new novel coronavirus cases, pushing the country’s total count to 11,618, the Department of Health said Wednesday.
Sixty-one percent of the new infections were registered in Metro Manila, while 22% of the additional cases were logged in Central Visayas. The remaining 17% of the new cases were reported elsewhere in the country.
The number of patients who have recovered from the coronavirus disease reached a new record high, with the addition of 145 recoveries. In total, 2,251 people in the country have survived COVID-19.
But 21 more people died from the severe respiratory disease. This brought to 772 the nation’s death toll.
Data from the DOH showed that 54% of the confirmed cases are male and are within the 20 to 39 age group. Fifty-five percent of the confirmed deaths had known comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes.
As of Tuesday, the Philippines conducted a total of 181,668 tests.
The national government placed outbreak epicenter Metro Manila, its neighboring province of Laguna and Cebu City in Central Visayas under “modified” enhanced community quarantine from May 16 to May 31.
Areas classified as “low- risk” for virus transmission will be placed under “modified” general community quarantine beginning mid-May.
Despite the easing of virus restrictions, health authorities urged Filipinos to maintain health protocols.
In a report, experts from the University of the Philippines discovered “alarming” errors in DOH’s COVID-19 patient data. They also observed that DOH data do not always match those of local government units.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the agency has already corrected the errors found in COVID-19 patient data. He added the lapses do “not prejudice the overall interpretation of data and decision making.”
More than 291,000 people have died out of more than 4.2 million confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide.
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