The Philippines Reports a Record 259 COVID Deaths in One Day as Cases Surpass 265,000

MANILA – The Philippines reported 259 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, the highest in a single day, as the cumulative total of COVID-19 cases in the country rose to more than 265,000.

The record daily death toll due to coronavirus infection was seen after 253 cases previously reported as “recovered” turned out to be “deaths” during the validation process, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

The number of COVID-19 cases reached a total of 265,888 after the DOH announced 4,699 additional infections.

Most or 1,498 of the new cases are from the National Capital Region, which has been the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

This is the seventh day in a row that additional cases have exceeded 3,000. Before this, cases appeared to be trending downward, reaching between 1,000 and 2,000 per day.

Last week, DOH claimed that the “irregularly high number of cases” reported was due to labs catching up on backlogged reports. Although the daily reports show that most of the cases are from the past 2 weeks.

The DOH said 15 labs were unable to submit their test results in time for Monday’s recount.

Active cases in the country amounted to 53,754, while total recoveries stood at 207,504 and the death toll, 4,630.

The DOH reported 249 newly recovered patients.

Experts from the University of the Philippines previously said that the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines is improving. The UP OCTA research group even lowered its estimate for the total number of cases at the end of September to just 310,000 to 330,000.

The Philippines recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on January 30 in a Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan City, China, where the disease is believed to have arisen. Her male partner, labeled the country’s second case, succumbed to the disease on February 1, becoming the first COVID-related fatality in the Philippines and outside of China.