DOH records 218 coronavirus-related deaths; toll now at 47,288

FILE PHOTO Personnel in protective suits, used due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, prepare to move a body inside the crematory chambers at a crematorium facility in Manila on April 29, 2020. (Photo by Maria TAN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the decreasing number of reported COVID-19 cases and active infections, the Department of Health (DOH) tallied 218 additional deaths on Monday, raising the death toll to 47,288.

The total deaths account for 1.67 percent of the total 2,826,853 confirmed cases in the country, and 0.92 percent of the deaths recorded worldwide.

According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker, the global death toll currently numbers 5,151,277, while total infections are at 257,570,349.

Meanwhile, current active infections in the country are now below the 20,000 mark at 19,798 while recoveries increased to 2,759,767.

With this, active infections in the country now only account for 0.7 percent of the total confirmed cases since the COVID-19 virus hit the country’s shores in March, 2020.

The country’s positivity rate also remains below 2.8 percent.

The DOH earlier said that if the low pattern holds in the coming days, the government is expected to declare the containment of the coronavirus transmission in the country.

The country also continued to have a low health care utilization rate, according to the DOH, with only 32 percent of ICU beds, 27 percent of isolation beds, 17 percent of ward beds, and 18 percent of ventilators currently in use.

This also holds true for Metro Manila, where occupied ICU beds are currently at 31 percent, isolation beds at 24 percent, ward beds at 23 percent and 20 percent for ventilators.

EDV