MANILA (UPDATE) — The Department of Health announced on Wednesday that there are 106 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.

This brings the total number of cases in the country to 3,870.

Included in the count are 12 new recovered patients, or a total of 96 recoveries since the start of the outbreak.

There are also 5 new fatalities, raising the death toll to 182.

The DOH explained that the higher number of fatalities compared to recoveries should not be a cause for concern since it takes longer for patients to recover.

Dr. Beverly Ho, special assistant to the Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, said during a televised briefing that it takes 2 weeks for people with mild symptoms to recover, and 3 to 6 weeks for severe and critical cases.

“Ang mga naitalang naka-recover ay mga pasyenteng naka-confine lamang po sa mga ospital. Maaaring may mga positive and mild asymptomatic cases na naka-recover mula sa kanilang self-isolation at home quarantine na hindi po kabilang sa numerong ito,” she added.

(Those recorded as having recovered, are patients confined in hospitals. It’s possible that there are also positive and mild asymptomatic cases who recovered while in self isolation and home quarantine that are not included in the count.)

Ho said that with the expanded testing they are preparing for, the tally will be including mild and asymptomatic cases.

“Once we do this, we will get a better picture of our recoveries in the country,” she said.

Ho also announced that another batch of personal protective equipment (PPE) sets that form part of the 1 million sets procured by government, were scheduled for delivery to hospitals on Wednesday.

Worldwide, there have been 1.28 million people infected with COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization. The Johns Hopkins University dashboard, however, records 1.4 million cases, including 300,000 recoveries and more than 82,000 fatalities.