MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:28 p.m.) — The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Philippines rose to 147,526 Thursday after 4,002 new infections were added to the country’s caseload.
The regions with the highest number of newly reported cases include Metro Manila with 2,445, Laguna with 319, Cebu with 212, Rizal with 142 and Cavite with 101.
Currently, there are 74,713 active cases or patients who are still infected with COVID-19. It is higher than the total recoveries which increased by 1,403 to 70,387.
Of the active cases, 91.2% were mild, 7.3% were asymptomatic, while 0.6% were severe and 0.9% were critical.
The department also reported 23 additional deaths related to COVID-19. This brought the total number of fatalities to 2,426.
Thursday’s case bulletin was based on the submission of 93 out of the 100 licensed laboratories. Some 225 cases were removed from the total case count.
According to DOH, some 1.747 million people have been tested for coronavirus.
Residents of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna have been under modified enhanced community quarantine since last week to slow the spread of the virus. But Malacañang said the extension of MECQ is “highly unlikely” as the government struggles to provide assistance for the poor.
The country is targeting to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine developed in Russia by October. Phase 3 clinical evaluation, which usually involves thousands of participants, is an essential testing phase before receiving regulatory approval.
Sputnik V may be registered with the Food and Drug Administration in April 2021 if the trials are successful. Experts expressed concern about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 745,000 since the outbreak emerged in China late last year. Over 20.47 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered.