4,478 new COVID cases: DOH says low count is due to different time of ‘extraction’

Image: koto_feja/IStock.com via AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,478 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the active count to 54,552, as the country braces for the threat of the Delta variant.

However, the DOH clarified that “the low number of cases reported today was due to the 9PM extraction done the day prior, not the usual 1PM.”

“Because of that, there were some cases reported yesterday that should have been included in the case counts today,” the department said.

Meanwhile, the DOH also recorded 6,149 more recoveries, which brings the total number of recovered patients to 1,484,714. It added that 84 more patients have died, putting the death toll to 27,401.

Fifteen percent of the 34,199 people who were tested had been found positive for coronavirus on Monday, according to DOH.

All testing laboratories were operational on Monday but four laboratories were not able to submit their data on time. The non-reporting labs contribute 1.6 percent of samples tested and 1.8 percent of positive individuals on average based on data in the last 14 days.

The DOH also said that 11 duplicate entries, including seven recoveries and one death, were removed from the total case count, while 53 cases that were initially tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after validation.

The health department earlier said projections have shown that the highly contagious Delta variant could drive Metro Manila’s daily new COVID-19 cases to 11,000 by the end of September if health protocols would not be properly imposed.

JPV