PH COVID-19 cases soar to 51,754; no new deaths recorded

MANILA, Philippines— The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday logged 1,395 new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, bringing the total to 51,754.

Of the total number of cases, 1,184 were tagged as “fresh” cases while the remaining 211 were “late” cases.

Fresh cases, according to the DOH, are those whose positive results were validated and were released within three days, while late cases are those whose results were validated four days or later.

Meanwhile, the tally of patients who successfully recovered from the respiratory ailment is now at 12,813 as 225 new recoveries were recorded.

The country’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 1,314  as no new deaths were tallied.

“No reported deaths today as the reported deaths submitted still requires validation—either the date or cause of death is missing,” the DOH later clarified as to why there were no new fatalities.

Meanwhile, the DOH said that the Philippines now has 83 accredited laboratories for COVID-19 testing, of which 62 are PCR labs while 21 are GeneXpert laboratories.

In an online press briefing, DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said that as of July 7, 825,139 individuals have been tested in the operational laboratories.

The COVID-19 crisis, which is declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has infected close to 12 million people globally and has claimed the lives of 546,988 individuals.

JE