MANILA, Philippines — Eighty-two new recoveries were recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday, a record-high spike of recoveries since the disease was first reported in the country bringing the total to 435 while the number of confirmed cases soared to 5,660 as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
This also further widened the gap between the number of recoveries and COVID-related deaths in the country, as the DOH only recorded 13 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 362.
It was only on April 15 that the number of recoveries surpassed the deaths in the country as the DOH recorded 58 new recoveries.
READ: 58 persons recover from COVID-19; confirmed cases rise to 5,453
The number of cases worldwide meanwhile breached the 2 million mark on Thursday, about 30% or 639,664 of which are found in the United States.
Spain is second in having the most number of cases at 180,659, followed by Italy at 165,155.
The global death toll is now at 137,108, with Italy having the most deaths at 21,645, followed by Spain at 18,812 deaths.
Meanwhile, over 3.2 million people in the world were able to beat COVID-19. Of the figure, over 520,000 are from New York, and more than 260,000 are from California.
COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the outbreak of which started in China’s Wuhan City in Hubei province in late 2019.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.