PH reports over 40,000 new COVID-19 recoveries as total infections hit past 161,000

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 16) — The Department of Health reported on Sunday a record single-day number of COVID-19 recoveries, with 40,397 more patients getting better.

The number of recovered patients is now at 112,586, which is nearly 70 percent of the total infected.

The DOH said the massive increase in figures is due to the time-based recoveries scheme under Oplan Recovery, wherein patients are released from isolation facilities after a certain number of days in quarantine, and after symptoms have disappeared upon a doctor’s assessment.

Those with mild or no symptoms can return to the community after 14 days of isolation even without taking a confirmatory test. For severe cases, the quarantine period should be 21 days, according to the DOH.

The time-based strategy does not include immuno-compromised patients, however, since they are required by the department to undergo another swab test to finally determine whether or not they have recovered from the illness.

According to the DOH, 39,483 of the newly reported recoveries were time-based. It added that it will regularly announce new data on Oplan Recovery every Sunday.

Meanwhile, the country’s tally of infected further climbed to 161,253, with 3,420 more people confirmed to have caught the virus.

Of the new cases, 2,091 were from Metro Manila, 263 from Laguna, 149 from Cavite, 137 from Batangas, and 106 from Rizal.

Sixty-five more patients also succumbed to the disease, bringing the death toll to 2,665. Among the newly reported deaths, 29 occurred in August, 29 in July, while seven in June.

Broken down into regions, 46 are from Metro Manila, 13 from Central Visayas, three from Calabarzon, and one each from the regions of Central Luzon, Bicol, and Davao.

Active cases or currently ill patients are now at 46,002, according to DOH.

Among Filipinos abroad, three new cases were detected for a total of 9,896, including 5,842 survivors and 725 fatalities, based on data from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Philippine National Police also recorded 77 more infections among its ranks. The case tally among police personnel went up to 2,919, including 2,097 recoveries and 13 deaths.