Philippines ranks 4th COVID cases in Western Pacific

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines ranks fourth in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Western Pacific, a report of the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

Based on WHO’s COVID-19 Dashboard for Western Pacific, there were 166,262 confirmed cases in the region as of May 15, including 6,677 deaths.

The Philippines took the fourth slot with 11,876 cases. There were 790 deaths, representing a fatality rate of 6.65 percent.

China, where the virus originated, ranked first with 82,933 cases, including 4,633 deaths; followed by Singapore with 26,098 including 21 deaths and Japan in third place with 16,193, including 710 deaths.

The Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country breached 12,000, a day before modified community quarantine takes effect in parts of the country.

Based on its latest bulletin for COVID-19, DOH recorded 215 new cases, bringing the total to 12,091 as of 4 p.m. Friday.

The National Capital Region accounted for 144 or 67 percent of the new cases, while Region 7, which was tagged recently as a hotspot for COVID-19 cases, had two cases. Other regions accounted for 69 cases.

The DOH noted there were 16 new fatalities, increasing the death toll to 806.

The agency added that 123 patients have defeated the virus, raising total recoveries to 2,460.