MANILA (UPDATE) – The Philippines on Saturday registered 147 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, raising the nationwide total to 10,610.

The number of people who have recovered from coronavirus infection rose by 108 to 1,842, the Department of Health (DOH) said in a bulletin.

The Philippines has seen more recoveries from the virus since it emerged from Wuhan City in Hubei province, China.

The DOH reported 8 new fatalities from the contagious disease, bringing the death toll to 704.

• Record-high new COVID-19 recoveries in PH at 116, new cases at 120

Metro Manila accounts for 84 percent or 123 of the new COVID-19 cases. The remaining 24 percent or 16 of the new infections are from the other regions.

Meanwhile, the country recorded more than 100 recoveries for the third day in a row while the 8 new deaths make for the lowest figure in 6 days since the 4 fatalities reported on May 3.

The Philippines has so far tested more than 131,000 for the virus out of a population of around 108 million, latest data showed.

Experts earlier warned that more testing needs to be done to gauge how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread.

• COVID-19 lockdown period in Metro Manila, other areas to be decided Monday: Roque

To halt the contagion, President Rodrigo Duterte extended the enhanced community quarantine until May 15 in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. A decision on whether this would be further extended is expected on Monday.

COVID-19 has sickened 3.9 million people worldwide and killed more than 274,000, according to a running tally from US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The US remains the epicenter of the pandemic with 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and 77,000 fatalities.