COVID-19 cases in PH exceed 29,000 with 943 new infections

MANILA, Philippines — The number of coronavirus disease cases in the Philippines has surpassed 29,000 with the validation of 943 new infections, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

According to the DOH, COVID-19 patients nationwide  jumped to 29,400, inclusive of 578 “fresh” cases and 365 “late” cases.

The DOH also reported that 20 virus-stricken persons had died, raising the fatality count to 1,150; while 272 other patients were able to recover from the respiratory illness, bringing total recoveries to 7,650.

In a statement, the DOH said 15 of the newly-reported deaths happened from June 5 to June 16.

Two duplicated cases were removed from the total reported cases on Friday.

The DOH said the total COVID-19 cases could still be revised “as these numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation.”

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, or death.

Globally, COVID-19 already infected more than 8.7 million people and killed more than 460,000 as of June 20. On the other hand, over 4.6 million people have recovered so far from the disease.

The COVID-19 outbreak started in Wuhan City in Hubei province in China in late 2019.

The highly contagious respiratory illness is caused by a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2.

KGA /ATM