MANILA, Philippines — The country hit on Friday its unprecedented single-day record of new COVID-19 infections with 7,103, driving nationwide active cases to 73,264.
In its latest bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said the total number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 648,066, including 390 recently-recovered patients and 13 new deaths. The total number of patients who survived COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, was at 561,902 while the death toll was at 12,900, as of March 19.
The 7,103 new COVID-19 cases were the highest daily tally since the pandemic reached the country last year, beating the 6,958 new coronavirus cases logged on August 10, 2020 – when Metro Manila was also experiencing a surge.
According to DOH, most of the 73,264 active cases or 93.9 percent were of mild symptoms while 3.3 percent were asymptomatic. But DOH data also showed that 1.1 percent of the total active cases have severe symptoms as 1.0 percent were in critical condition.