COVID-19 infections in Philippines exceed 15,000 with addition of 380 cases
MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 5:14 p.m.) — The number of confirmed coronavirus patients in the country surpassed the 15,000-mark Wednesday after the Department of Health reported another massive increase in new infections.
The DOH logged 380 new cases Wednesday—the biggest single-day increase since April 6 when the country had 414 additional infections. The day before, 350 cases were recorded.
This brought the nation’s tally to 15,049 days before the national government is set to decide whether or not to further ease restrictions on movement after a nearly three-month lockdown.
For most of the month, daily new cases exceeded the 200-level.
The agency also reported that the total number of recoveries increased to 3,506 with the recovery of 94 more patients. Recoveries accounted for 23% of the country’s confirmed cases.
The fatality count, however, rose to 904 as 19 more individuals succumbed to the severe respiratory disease.
The number of active cases stood at 10,639 Wednesday, the DOH said.
Currently, there are 42 laboratories nationwide capable of processing samples. Some 282,923 individuals have been tested in the Philippines as of May 25.
Dr. Takeshi Nishijima, World Health Organization Western Pacific technical officer, said on Tuesday that the number of newly-reported cases in the country “is not rapidly decreasing even after the strict implementation of community quarantine.”
He advised Filipinos that it is still better to stay at home and practice preventive measures such as physical distancing, cough etiquette and frequent handwashing.
Government officials have repeatedly said the Philippines has begun flattening the curve, citing the slower case and mortality doubling time, and the drop in positivity rate.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 350,000 out of the 5.6 million people infected globally since the pathogen first emerged in China late last year.
Related video:
- Latest
- Trending
