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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines said its caseload of novel coronavirus infections reached 18,638 Monday as Metro Manila and other areas at high-risk of virus transmission shifted to a more relaxed community quarantine that allowed more businesses to reopen and workers to return to their jobs.
The Department of Health reported 552 new cases. Of the additional cases, 119 were classified “fresh” or test results that were released to patients in the last three days, while 433 were “late” cases from the agency’s testing backlog.
The total number of patients who have survived COVID-19 increased to 3,979 with the recovery of 70 more patients.
But fatalities related to COVID-19 also rose to 960 after three fatalities were added to the toll.
Metro Manila—home to more than 12 million people and the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak—transitioned to the more relaxed general community quarantine Monday. After nearly three months, workers in the capital region returned to their jobs that were shut by virus lockdown and dealt with limited public transit.
In easing one of the world's longest lockdowns, the DOH said the slower case and mortality doubling time and the critical care utilization rate guided the decision of the government.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has infected at least 6.1 million people and killed over 367,000 since it first emerged in China in December last year.
Follow this page for updates on a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has struck dozens of people in China.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused Tuesday of trying to rewrite history for appearing to blame the deadly spread of coronavirus in care homes on the institutions themselves.
Britain has suffered the worst death toll in Europe from the virus, with more than 44,000 confirmed deaths, and care homes have suffered badly.
The government initially said it did not believe care homes were at particular risk, and has been slow to roll out testing of both staff and patients. — AFP
The Department of Health reports 1,540 additional cases of the coronavirus disease, bringing the total number of COVID-19 infections to 47,873.
There are 201 new recoveries and six new deaths.
More than five million residents of Melbourne will be locked down for six weeks after coronavirus cases surged in Australia's second-biggest city, authorities announced Tuesday.
State Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown would begin at midnight Wednesday and last at least six weeks, as he warned residents "we can't pretend" the coronavirus crisis is over.
After the south-eastern city detected 191 new cases in 24 hours, Andrews said there were now too many incidents of the virus to trace and track. — AFP
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 535,025 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1900 GMT on Monday.
At least 11,522,750 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 196 countries and territories. Of these, at least 6,016,500 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. — AFP
Chinese authorities on Monday detained a law professor who published essays criticising President Xi Jinping over the coronavirus pandemic and his efforts to consolidate power, according to friends of the man.
Xu Zhangrun, a rare outspoken critic of the government in China's heavily censored academia, was taken from his home in suburban Beijing by more than 20 people, one of his friends said on condition of anonymity.
Xu published an essay in February blaming the culture of deception and censorship fostered by Xi for the spread of the coronavirus in China. — AFP
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