DOH logs 71 more COVID-related deaths; toll now at 54,168

FILE PHOTO: Health workers in hazmat suits walk outside the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital in Manila, Philippines, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday said that 71 more individuals succumbed to COVID-19 complications, further increasing the country’s death toll to 54,168.

According to the DOH, 66 of these deaths occurred in January, with the rest being backlogs from last year — 2 deaths in October, 1 in September, 1 in June, and another 1 in April.

The DOH said that the delays were still due to the late encoding of death information to DOH’s COVIDKaya.

READ: PH registers 8,702 new COVID cases; active cases down to 153,335

Meanwhile, based on DOH’s data, the health care utilization rate continues to slightly decrease with ICU beds at 44 percent, isolation beds at 43 percent, ward beds likewise at 43 percent, and ventilators at 24 percent.

In Metro Manila specifically, 37 percent of ICU beds, 32 percent of isolation beds, 36 percent of ward beds, and 23 percent of ventilators are currently in use.

As of writing, worldwide deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker, number 5,701,047, while infections are at 384,937,259.

EDV