PH reports COVID-19 infection of 1,547 more; decrease in active cases

MANILA, Philippines — An additional 1,547 people in the country have contracted the new coronavirus disease, according to the Department of Health (DOH), which also noted that the recovery of 2,601 more patients has decreased nationwide active cases to 27, 025 as of Monday.

The health agency said total recovered patients now stood at 2,745,777 and that total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country since last year has reached 2,818,511.

New COVID-19 cases, the DOH also said, represent 4.1 percent of the 39,147 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes the severe respiratory illness. Although this rate was slightly higher than Sunday’s 3.9 percent, it remains below the 5 percent benchmark of the World Health Organization to indicate a controlled transmission of the virus.

Of the 27,025 active cases, the DOH noted, 61.0 percent were mild cases, 5.9 percent were asymptomatic, 17.59 percent were moderate, 10.8 percent were severe, and 4.6 percent were critical.

The health department likewise reported the death of 128 coronavirus-stricken patients, which boosted the fatality count to 45,709 as of November 15.

Further, the DOH said three laboratories were not able to submit their data on the November 13 tests but that these laboratories only contribute, on average, 0.7 percent of samples tested and 0.3 percent of positive individuals.

The DOH also said it detected and removed 16 duplicates from the total case count — of which 12 were recovery cases.

“Moreover, 245 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation,” it added.

KGA