1,734 new COVID-19 cases push PH total to 543,282

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Thursday reported 1,734 new coronavirus cases, pushing the country’s total number of infection to 543,282, including 31,478 active cases.

The number of individuals who have recovered from Covid-19, however, already reached the 500,000-mark with the addition of 423 new recoveries, or a total of 500,335.

Meanwhile, the death toll climbed to 11,469, following 68 additional fatalities.

The additional figures do not cover data from two laboratories that failed to submit their results on time.

According to DOH, active cases compose 5.8 percent of the total count, while recoveries and deaths make up 92.1 and 2.11 percent of the tally.

Of the active cases, 87.6 percent are mild, 6.9 percent are asymptomatic, 2.5 percent are critical, 2.4 percent are severe, and 0.62 are moderate cases.

The DOH said 12 duplicates, including seven recoveries, were removed from the total caseload.

Fifty-two cases that were also previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths after final validation.

In an online media forum earlier in the day, Dr. Alethea de Guzman, medical specialist at the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, said that there has been a slight decrease in the national growth rate of Covid-19 cases.

However, she noted that there has been a continuous increase in cases of infection in Cagayan Valley, Central Visayas, Soccsksargen and Caraga, but at a slower rate.

She said that except for the four regions, “a plateau or a downward trend were observed” for the rest of the country.

A total of 107 million people have had Covid-19 globally since the start of the pandemic, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. Of those, 2.3 million have died and 60 million have recovered, which leaves almost 50 million active cases worldwide.

EDV