MANILA - The number of Filipinos abroad who have contracted COVID-19 rose to 12,996 on Tuesday as 67 new cases were recorded, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
The DFA reported 40 new recoveries and no new fatality among those infected.
The number of those currently being treated abroad for the disease is 3,632, as 8,430 of those infected have recovered, while 934 have died.
Those undergoing treatment are broken down as follows by region: 810 in the Asia Pacific, 339 in Europe, 2,421 in the Middle East and Africa, and 62 in the Americas.
In the Philippines, the COVID-19 has so far sickened 479,693 people. The tally includes 9,321 deaths, 448,375 recoveries, and 21,997 active cases.
The new coronavirus is believed to have first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
Data from the US-based Johns Hopkins University showed that almost 86 million people globally contracted COVID-19, with the US, India, Brazil, France and the United Kingdom (UK) having the highest number of cumulative cases as of this posting.
The UK in December last year detected a reportedly more infectious COVID-19 strain, leading some countries to impose new lockdown and travel restrictions to stem its spread.
Over 1.8 million people have died while more than 48 million have recovered, according to the JHU’s running tally.
Treatment for the disease using off-label drugs are still undergoing trial, while COVID-19 vaccines are already being administered in some countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.
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