MANILA (UPDATE) — COVID-19 cases in the Philippines breached the 700,000-mark on Friday with another record-high 9,838 newly-reported infections, as the capital region's coronavirus wards continued to see a stream of fresh admissions.

The day's tally, which does not include data from 7 laboratories, pushed the country's cumulative cases to 702,856.

This is the 4th time in 7 days that fresh infections for the day reached a new record increase.

It is also the 3rd time in the past week that the cases announced by the health department exceeded the 8,000-mark, data collated by ABS-CBN's Investigative and Research Group (IRG) showed.

The Philippines' active cases, still an all-time high, also breached the 100,000-mark. The remaining active infections in the country stood at 109,018.

COVID-related fatalities rose to 13,149 with 54 additional deaths, according to the Department of Health (DOH). This is the 3rd straight day that fatalities exceeded 40.

The agency also logged 663 more recoveries, bringing the total number of patients who have recuperated from the disease to 580,689. This accounts for 82.6 percent of the country's total recorded cases.

Researchers from the OCTA Research group last Saturday warned that the daily reported new infections in the country could reach 10,000 by the end of March, most of which could come from the capital region.

• READ: OCTA warns daily COVID-19 cases in PH may reach 10,000 by end of March
• READ: Many Filipinos fail to abide by physical distancing protocols: OCTA survey

Authorities have pointed to lax compliance with quarantine regulations over vaccine optimism, and the spread of more transmissible COVID-19 variants as possible reasons for the surge.

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Meanwhile, out of the 32,069 individuals who got tested for the virus on Thursday noon, some 17.3 percent were found positive.

Some 29 duplicates have been excluded from the country's total tally. Fourteen were found to be recoveries.

A case, meanwhile, has also been removed from the cumulative tally because it was found to be negative for the disease.

A total of 22 cases initially classified as recoveries turned out to be deaths after the agency's final validation.

Based on the latest DOH bulletin, the utilization rate of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Metro Manila already reached high to critical risk levels with some 72 percent already occupied.

Some 68 percent of the 3,800 isolation beds in NCR have already been filled up, according to the bulletin.

The country's treatment czar earlier said that more modular units would be created in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to serve COVID-19 patients amid the surge of new infections.

To stem the virus spread, the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, the "NCR Plus" bubble, were placed under general community quarantine with additional specific restrictions from March 22 until April 4, with movement going in and out of the zone barred.

Limited religious gatherings for the Holy Week, however, was allowed.

• READ: IATF allows limited religious gatherings in 'NCR Plus' from April 1-4

According to the Johns Hopkins University's running tally, almost 126 million people globally have been infected with the novel coronavirus, which scientists believe to have emerged from Wuhan in late 2019.

The virus has claimed 2.8 million lives, while some 71 million have recovered.