MANILA (UPDATE) — The Department of Health on Tuesday announced that confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines have gone up by 104, bringing the total to 3,764 since the first case was recorded on Jan. 30.
It also reported 11 new recovered patients and 14 new deaths.
There are now a total of 84 COVID-19 recoveries, and 177 fatalities in the country.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said majority of the cases are in Metro Manila, the nation's capital.
“Outside Luzon, the most number of cases are in Davao region with 79 cases,” Duque said in Filipino during a televised briefing. He said there are also 39 cases in Central Visayas.
Worldwide, there are more than 1.3 million people infected with the new strain of coronavirus. The Philippines ranks between the 30th to 35th place among countries with the most number of cases.
Of the millions of people with COVID-19, 285,000 have already recovered and almost 75,000 have died, as of Tuesday.
The Philippines’ number of COVID-19 cases doubles every four days on average, according to DOH data analyzed by the ABS-CBN Data Analytics team. Based on current data, the Philippines has yet to flatten the curve or to lower the rate of infections.
Duque said that experts from various institutions have come up with projections or models on the spread of COVID-19 in the Philippines.
He said that they will be releasing their recommendations soon.
Since March 17, Luzon island, where most of the coronavirus cases are, has been on lockdown in a bid to contain the outbreak. The measure will be implemented until April 30.
Elsewhere in the country, several areas like Davao City, and 44 towns and 7 cities of Cebu province, are also placed under enhanced community quarantine.
The disease is believed to have originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.