COVID-19 deaths in the Philippines surpass the 20,000-mark

This file photo shows funeral home workers in protective suits carrying a body during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas, Manila, Philippines on Thursday, July 16, 2020. Coronavirus infections continue to rise in the country after reopening the economy that is on the brink of a recession while still struggling to combat the pandemic. The cause of death is unconfirmed. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines — COVID-19 deaths in the country breached the 20,000-mark on Tuesday with the demise of 36 more patients due to various complications from the severe respiratory disease.

The Department of Health (DOH) said in its March 25 bulletin that the nationwide COVID-19 death toll is now at 20,019, which represents 1.68 percent of the total 1,188,672 confirmed infections in the Philippines.

Previous data of DOH showed that the tally of fatalities in the last seven days – from May 19 to 25 – was 708, or an average of 101 deaths recorded per day.

From May 12 to 18, a total of 753 deaths or an average of 107 fatalities were logged, the DOH data added.

Also on Tuesday, the health agency reported additional infection of 3,972 people in the country, pushing the number of active cases to 48,201, of which 92.7 percent are mild, 2.1 percent are asymptomatic, 1.42 percent are moderate infections, 2.1 percent are severe, and 1.6 percent are critical.

DOH also said 4,659 more COVID-positive persons were able to recover from the illness, increasing the tally of recovered patients to 1,120,452.

KGA