MANILA - A 46-year-old Filipino man has recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the third case of recuperation from among the patients recorded in the Philippines, the country's health ministry said Monday, even as the total novel coronavirus infections tally has risen to 142.

According to a statement of the health department, the newly recovered patient was admitted last March 5 at a hospital in Manila after manifesting cough and fever on Feb. 25. He tested positive for COVID-19 on March 9.

But two subsequent tests on him yielded negative results, and "the patient is now asymptomatic." He has since been discharged.

The first two recovery cases in the country were the Chinese tourists tagged as Patients No. 1 and 3. Both have already returned to China.

"While this is a very welcome development, there is no reason for us to be complacent," the health department said of the third case of recovery in the country.

The agency said two new cases, involving two men aged 63 and 50, were recorded in the country.

The total of 142 cases, so far, includes the three recovered cases and 12 fatalities.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Monday he tested positive for COVID-19, making him the Philippines' first national official to contract the virus.

The DOH did not immediately say if he is among the two new cases.

The Philippines is currently under a state of public health emergency, with the response alert at Code Red, Sub-level 2 following "sustained community transmission" of the disease that originated from China.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon as the government sought to arrest the rapidly spreading disease.

• Luzon under enhanced community quarantine as COVID-19 cases rise

COVID-19 cases have been reported in over 100 countries, infecting more than 160,000 people, with more than 6,000 deaths. The World Health Organization has described it a pandemic.