FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker takes blood sample from a passenger at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) drive-thru testing center in Manila, Philippines, July 15, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday touted the Philippines’ high COVID-19 recovery rate after the country took the 18th spot with the most coronavirus infections worldwide.
In an online media forum, DOH spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said the ranking is solely based on the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per country and other figures such as the deaths and recoveries are not yet considered.
“Ibig sabihin, ito iyong mga reported kaso natin simula noong nag-umpisa tayo. Hindi pa po nababawas diyan iyong mga nakarecover, mga namatay at kung ilan po ang active cases,” Vergeire told reporters.
“So when we look at this list of countries, we’re looking at the totality of cases. Pero kailangan naiintidihan ng ating mga kababayan para hindi sila natatakot,” she added.
According to the Health official, 82% of the country’s total COVID-19 caseload has already recovered, while only 1.8% are fatalities.
“It has to be taken in a comprehensive or complete analysis when we look at this number para po hindi natatakot ang ating mga kababayan,” Vergeire stressed.
The DOH announced on Sunday a total of 339,341 coronavirus cases in the country after 2,502 additional cases were reported.
With this, the Philippines now ranks 18th worldwide in terms of total coronavirus infections, overtaking Saudi Arabia which reported 339,267 total cases as of Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.