PH COVID-19 caseload tops 40K with record-high 1,531 new cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines now has 40,336 cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 1,531 additional infections on Friday.

This is the new highest single-day increase in new cases, surpassing June 23’s 1,150.

Of the additional cases, 688 were “fresh,” or those patients whose test results yielded positive for the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in the last three days, while 843 were “late,” or those whose test results yielded positive four days ago or earlier.

The agency also reported a new record-high recoveries in a day with 400 new survivors, bringing the total number of patients who recovered to 11,073. The death count also increased to 1,280 with six 6 fatalities.

Metro Manila — the epicenter of the contagion in the country — accounted for 413 of the new infections while 301 were recorded in Central Visayas where Cebu City, the only area in the Philippines currently under the most stringent lockdown classification, is located.

Nearly half of the new cases were spread across other regions while the remaining 32 were repatriates.

As of July 1, DOH data showed only 41.7% of the nationwide bed capacity for COVID-19 patients are currently being used, wherein 487 intensive care unit beds or 36% are occupied; 1,539 (46.57%) ward beds are occupied and only 3,805 isolation beds (40.78%) are used.

However, the same is not the case for COVID-19 hotspot Cebu City where big hospitals have reached the “critical level” capacity due to a surge in new coronavirus cases, according to the DOH.

Globally, around 10.8 million people have caught the respiratory illness, with over 521,000 deaths, and nearly 5.8 million recoveries.

EDV