COVID-19 cases in PH reach 157,918; recoveries breach 72K mark

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday recorded 4,351 additional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, pushing the nation’s caseload to 157,918.

Of the newly reported cases, 3,235 are fresh cases while 1,116 are late cases, DOH said. Of the 157,918, DOH said 83,109 are active cases.

Latest COVID-19 cases mostly came from Metro Manila with 1,952, Calabarzon with 566 and Central Visayas with 181.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries in the Philippines has reached 72,209 with 885 more people who were able to survive the respiratory ailment.

The health department also documented 159 more fatalities, raising the country’s death toll to 2,600.

Of the 159 new deaths, 57 occurred in August, 61 in July, 37 in June, three in May and one in April.

After validating cases, DOH removed 93 duplicates from the total case count.

The novel coronavirus, the causative agent of COVID-19, was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei province of China in late December last year.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people. However, it causes serious illnesses such as pneumonia in older adults and people with underlying health issues.

MUF/CFC