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MANILA, Philippines — While the Department of Health has been reporting decreasing daily count of fresh COVID-19 infections in the past few days, it announced on Wednesday a notable tally of 309 patients who died due to the new coronavirus disease.
This number increased the nationwide COVID-19 death toll to 46,117, which, according to the DOH, account for 1.64 percent of the total 2,820,494 confirmed infections since the pandemic hit the country last year. It was also 0.90 percent of the global tally on coronavirus deaths as the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 dashboard indicated that worldwide deaths stood at 5,104,899 as of November 16 while total infections were at 253,640,693.
Based on the government’s latest data, the 309 death cases are the highest recorded this month – the same with the November 14 report of the DOH on the number of fatalities due to COVID-19. The newest death count was also the highest since October 30.
On the other hand, the DOH reported also on Wednesday that active coronavirus cases fell to 23,846 despite logging 1,190 new COVID-19 cases. It further reported the recovery of 2,759 patients which increased the total number of coronavirus survivors to 2,750,531.
Moreover, the DOH said it recorded a low health care utilization rate nationwide as only 33 percent of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients, 29 percent of isolation beds, 21 percent of ward beds, and 21 percent of ventilators were being used at the time of its reporting.
It even noted that in Metro Manila, occupied ICU beds were at 33 percent while isolation beds and ward beds were at 25 percent each. The use of ventilators by COVID-19 patients was at 22 percent in the nation’s capital region, the DOH added.