MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:28 p.m.) — The Department of Health reported 4,650 coronavirus infections Wednesday, bringing the country’s caseload to 173,774 as Metro Manila and other urban centers returned to general community quarantine.
Most of the additional cases were from Metro Manila (3,092). It was followed by Cavite (249), Laguna (194), Rizal (189) and Bulacan (136).
The number of active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine stood at 57,498. Of the figure, 91.4% were mild, 6.5% were asymptomatic, 0.9% were severe and 1.2% were critical.
Total recoveries also rose to 113,481 after 716 more people survived the respiratory illness.
However, the death toll climbed to 2,795 with 111 new fatalities. Of the newly-reported deaths, 52 were from Metro Manila, 29 were from Central Visayas and 11 were from Calabarzon.
The DOH said a total of 1,992,128 people have been tested for coronavirus in the country.
Wednesday’s figures were based on the total tests conducted by 97 out of 105 laboratories nationwide. The department said it had removed 89 cases from the total case count.
President Rodrigo Duterte decided to place Metro Manila and its nearby provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna back to a more lenient general community quarantine until end-August to revive the country’s battered economy.
Under a GCQ scenario, more industries will be allowed to reopen, restaurants will be allowed to resume dine-in operations and public transportation will be allowed to return on the road.
Globally, the coronavirus case count reached 22.04 million, with over 778,000 deaths since the health crisis emerged in China late last year.