PH Reports 1,923 New COVID-19 Cases, 132 Highest Deaths in 2 Weeks

MANILA – The Philippines recorded 1,923 new coronavirus infections on Friday, bringing the number of cases nationwide to 365,799, data from the health department showed.

This is the fourth day in a row that daily additional cases have counted less than 2,000.

The virus that caused the disease, which first emerged in central China’s Wuhan City late last year, has claimed 132 more lives in the Philippines. Friday’s death data is the highest in two weeks and has brought the Philippines total to 6,915.

The new deaths is the highest number announced in a single day since October 8, when the Department of Health (DOH) announced 144 deaths.

Total recoveries have risen to 312,691, 424 more than the day before, the DOH said in its latest bulletin.

The country has 46,193 active infections, of which 83.6 percent of patients have mild symptoms, official figures from the Department of Health showed.

A total of 13 labs out of 136 accredited testing labs did not submit their data on time, DOH said.

The OCTA Research Group, made up of professors from the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas, estimates that COVID-19 cases in the Philippines will reach 380,000 to 410,000 by the end of October.

According to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) coronavirus control panel, more than 41.7 million people have been infected by the COVID-19 virus worldwide since the start of the pandemic. Of these, more than 1.1 million have died and more than 28.3 million have recovered.

To date, the Philippines ranked 20th among the top countries with the most cumulative cases of COVID-19, according to the JHU tally.

More details below.