MANILA (UPDATE)- The Philippines now has more than 1,000 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, with 272 confirmed Saturday, by far the most number of new cases in a single day.

The Department of Health said the country's total is now at 1,075, from 803 on Friday. The death toll also jumped to 68, with 14 new confirmed fatalities.

The oldest among the new fatalities was an 86-year-old man from Quezon City, while the youngest were two 60-year-old men from Manila and Caloocan City.

The number of recoveries, meanwhile, is now at 35 after 4 patients were cured, the DOH said.

The new recovered patients were a 55-year-old man from Quezon City, a 46-year-old woman from Pasig City, a 30-year-old man from Mandaluyong City and a 72-year-old man from San Juan City.

The Philippine government imposed a lockdown on Luzon until April 12, suspending public transportation and ordering millions to stay at home, to curb the spread of COVID-19.

As of March 27, the fast spreading pathogen has infected nearly 510,000 worldwide, with over 23,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Countries around the globe have imposed strict travel measures to arrest contamination of COVID-19, which has sent governments and their citizens reeling due to its rapid spread.