COVID-19 cases in PH rise to 12,942, as 114 more recover

MANILA, Philippines — The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to nearly 13,000, after 224 new cases were recorded by Department of Health (DOH) Tuesday.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases to 12,942.

Meanwhile, 114 new patients were able to recover from the deadly respiratory disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,843.

Six more deaths related to COVID-19 were recorded by the DOH, raising the country’s death toll to 837.

More than half or 78% of the new cases were recorded in Metro Manila, while 17 cases or 7% are located in Central Visayas.

DOH Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire also clarified that the health department has been aiming to conduct “expanded” testing, rather than mass testing, due to the limited resources of the government.

Vergeire said the DOH has expanded its scope for testing, which now includes individuals exhibiting mild to no symptoms of COVID-19.

She issued the clarification after Malacañang said the government does not have enough resources to conduct mass testing, and instead will shift the burden to private sectors, which drew flak among the public.

The DOH has since then been ramping up the country’s testing capacity. It aims to conduct at least 30,000 COVID-19 tests a day by the end of May.

So far, it has been able to conduct 11,127 tests last May 15 alone.

To date, the DOH has tested over 207,000 individuals for COVID-19, and conducted more than 220,000 tests.

The coronavirus has so far infected 4.8 million people across the globe, killing more than 310,000. However, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus board, 1.7 million COVID-19 patients were able to recover.

EDV