MANILA - More than 16,000 people in the Philippines have been tested for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a government official.
Around 16,268 individuals have undergone medical tests for COVID-19 as of 4 p.m. Friday, said Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer at the National Task Force (NTF) on COVID-19.
Home to more than 100 million people, the Philippines recorded 385 new cases of COVID-19 on the same day, bringing its total number of infections to 3,018.
The Department of Health also logged 29 new deaths, the country's highest daily toll yet, raising the total number of fatalities to 136.
Only 1 newly recovered patient was reported, bringing the Philippines's total to 52 recoveries since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
DOH earlier said it is hoping to run 8,000 COVID-19 tests daily by the end of April, following strong public clamor for mass testing.
“We are confident that our laboratories can do a total of 3,000 tests a day by April 14,” said Dr. Beverly Ho, special assistant to the health secretary, during a televised DOH briefing.
The health official explained however that mass testing would be for symptomatic patients and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and health care workers.--With a report from Kristine Sabillo, ABS-CBN News
COVID-19 testing Philippines, number of COVID-19 tests in Philippines, coronavirus testing, Carlito Galvez, DOH, DOH testing