September 30 ------ The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines leapt to 309,303 on Tuesday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,025 new infections. Metro Manila still recorded the highest number of newly reported cases at 628, followed by Cavite with 279, Negros Occidental with 218, Laguna with 108, and Bulacan with 102. Eighty-one percent or 1,641 of the newly reported cases contracted COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Meanwhile, total recoveries rose to 252,930 after 290 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.
The death toll also climbed to 5,448 with 68 new fatalities. “Moreover, 21 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified to deaths after final validation,” the DOH added, The remaining 50,925 are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 86.5 percent of which are mild, 8.8 percent are asymptomatic, 1.4 percent are severe, and 3.3 percent are in critical condition. As of September 28, the Philippines had 136 licensed laboratories that had tested over 3.4 million individuals while 47 percent of COVID-19 intensive care unit beds nationwide were occupied and 24 percent of mechanical ventilators were in use.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier extended the general community quarantine over Metro Manila, Batangas, Tacloban, Iloilo City, Bacolod, and Iligan to October 31 while Lanao del Sur was placed under the more stringent modified enhanced community quarantine.
Source: gmanetwork.com