The Philippines hit a record high number of recoveries anew from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 112, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 1,618, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Thursday.
Total COVID-19 cases in the country spiked to 10,343 after the DOH’s daily tally confirmed 339 new infections.
Meanwhile, 27 more patients have died due to the disease, bringing the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country to 685.
The continuous spike in COVID-19 cases in the past few days were due to the regular expansion of testing capacity in the country which plays a vital role in speeding up the clearing of backlogs, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
“Hindi po ibig sabihin na dumadami ang mga bagong kaso. Ang ibig sabihin lang po ay natatapos nang i-proseso ang mga datos na naiwan nitong nakaraang linggo,” she explained.
Currently, the Philippines operates 23 COVID-19 testing centers while 84 laboratories are in the process of accreditation by the health department.
The 339 new cases today came from various areas in the country. 205 patients or 61 percent came from Region VII, 110 patients or 32 percent came from Metro Manila while the remaining 24 individuals are recorded across the country.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore posted 20,939 COVID-19 cases and remains the country with the most number of cases in the region. Indonesia follows on its tail with 12,776 cases trailed by the Philippines. (RJ Espartinez)