DOH reports 18,659 new COVID-19 cases, no additional death due to technical glitch

Facade of the DOH main office in Manila. INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) reported 18,659 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the total number of active cases of the disease in the country to 175,324.

Active cases now compose 7.1 percent of the total 2,453,328 confirmed cases of the disease since the pandemic started. Ninety-five percent of the active cases are either mild or asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, the DOH also logged 9,088 recoveries, which raised the total number of patients who have recovered from the disease to 2,240,599 or 91.3 percent of the total.

The DOH did not report any additional deaths. The country’s coronavirus death toll stands at 37,405, which makes up 1.52 percent of the total cases.

“No deaths were reported today due to technical issues in COVIDKaya. The Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently addressing issues encountered by the system,” the agency explained.

According to DOH, 24.2 percent of 76,624 people who were tested for COVID-19 were found positive on Wednesday.

Only one testing laboratory was not able to submit data on time. The said laboratory contributed 0.3 percent of samples tested and 0.3 percent of positive individuals in the last 14 days. The DOH also removed 84 duplicate entries, including 47 recoveries, from the total case count.

The new daily COVID-19 cases in the recent days were below the 20,000 mark recorded in the past weeks. Independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research said that the COVID-19 cases at the national level are on a downward trend but at a slower pace as some regions still record high numbers of infections.