MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ total COVID-19 cases neared the 5,000 mark as the Department of Health (DOH) reported 284 new cases on Monday, bringing the country’s total of confirmed cases of infection to 4,932.
The total number of COVID-19 related deaths also rose to 315 with the addition of 18 new deaths, the DOH reported.
The health department likewise announced 45 new recoveries, bringing the country’s total to 242.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2 or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
It is thought to have first jumped from an animal host to humans in Wuhan, China and has so far infected over 1.8 million in nearly 200 countries and territories nationwide.
It causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but experts warned said that older adults with preexisting health conditions were more vulnerable to the coronavirus, particularly those aged over 60-years-old.