Philippines reports 2,099 new COVID-19 cases; total climbs to 46,333
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 6) — The Philippines recorded over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day anew, with the country’s case count surging to 46,333 on Monday.
The Department of Health announced 2,099 new infections, 1,258 of which are “fresh” or were detected in the last three days. The other 841 are labeled as “late” cases or were part of the validation backlog.
The agency also noted that 20 duplicates were removed from the total case count, as it explained that the numbers reported undergo constant cleaning and validation.
Recovered patients meanwhile exceeded 12,000, after 243 more have beaten the virus. The total number of survivors is now at 12,185, which accounts for around one-fourth of the country’s confirmed cases.
However, the disease also resulted in the death of six more patients, raising the death toll to 1,303.
According to the DOH, the Philippines' active COVID-19 cases currently stand at 32,845, with the majority of the patients exhibiting mild symptoms.
Nearly half of the new infections came from Metro Manila, which logged an additional 998 infections. Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing that cases in the capital region have been rising in the past two weeks, with a total of 11 hospitals in the metro reporting full capacity of their intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients.
Meanwhile, Central Visayas listed 466 new cases, while other regions nationwide had a cumulative 541. The other 94 are those who recently returned to the country.
READ: DOH warns of case clustering among barangays, closed-setting facilities as COVID-19 infections soar
According to Vergeire, the national positivity rate — or the percentage of those who tested positive for the virus out of the total number of tests — rose to 10.53% on July 2, from 6.67% on June 29.
Health officials on Sunday recorded the country's highest single-day increase in infections at 2,434. The DOH has attributed the surge to the increased contact among the population, as the Philippines continues to ease community quarantine restrictions.
Meanwhile, no new COVID-19 cases were recorded among Filipinos abroad, with the total confirmed infections remaining at 8,679, based on data from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Recoveries are also still at 5,201, while the death count is at 577, with no new survivors nor deaths recorded.
The DOH reiterates its appeal to the public to strictly adhere to health protocols and practice preventive measures against COVID-19, such as wearing of face masks, frequent hand washing, cough etiquette, and physical distancing.
