Philippines’ COVID-19 cases accelerate to 18,638

MANILA, Philippines — The total of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines now stands at 18,638 as the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Monday 552 additional cases.

Of the newly reported cases, 119 are considered “fresh cases” while the remaining 433 are “late cases.”

The DOH has been including in its daily case bulletin the “fresh” and “late” cases which resulted in a massive increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in recent days.

The DOH defines “fresh” cases as those test results that came out and were validated by its Epidemiology Bureau in the last three days, while “late” cases are test results that came out four or more days ago but were only recently validated.

Total recoveries nationwide are now at 3,979 after  70 more were able to defeat the respiratory disease.

Meanwhile, three more succumbed to the illness, bringing the total death count to 960.

The surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was due to the DOH’s efforts to catch up with the validation of test results, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire previously explained.

The sudden change in DOH’s reporting system drew fierce criticisms from some lawmakers with Senator Panfilo Lacson saying that the change showed that health officials had not been forthright in disclosing the real data to the public.

But the DOH said the jump in confirmed coronavirus cases in the Philippines “does not mean that the COVID-19 situation in the country is worsening.”

It also stood by its reporting system, saying that it has been “transparent from the very start” of the pandemic.