PH logs 4,487 new COVID-19 cases

 Latest batch of samples for testing only nearly 27k

MANILA (UPDATE)— The Philippines on Tuesday confirmed 4,487 additional COVID-19 cases, the lowest announced in more than 2 months, raising the country's cumulative total to over 1.154 million. 

The country now has 1,154,388 total recorded infections, of which 4.5 percent or 52,291 are active. 

• Are PH COVID-19 cases really declining? DOH points to lower testing figures, sees problem

The ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group (IRG) said Tuesday's newly reported cases is the lowest since March 17 this year, when the Department of Health (DOH) announced 4,387 new cases.

Those still battling the disease is considered also the fewest in more than 2 months or since Mar. 14, when 47,807 active cases were logged, according to the research unit. 
 
The number of active cases reported previously has been adjusted for duplicate cases. 

Meanwhile, the DOH did not say whether the day's relatively low number of fresh cases was due to the fewer testing samples received by accredited laboratories.

But based on the agency's latest bulletin, only 26,672 samples were tested on Sunday, where 13 percent were found positive for the virus. 

Eight laboratories also failed to submit testing results on time. 

"Based on data in the last 14 days, the 8 non-reporting labs contribute, on average, 2.5 percent of samples tested and 2.7 percent of positive individuals," the DOH noted. 

Deaths in the country due to COVID-19 increased by 110 to 19,372.

These include 64 cases initially tagged as recoveries but turned out as fatalities after the agency's revalidation. 

There were 6,383 more who recuperated from the respiratory disease, bringing the country's overall recoveries to 1,082,725. 

The total number of recoveries accounts for 93.8 percent of the country's running tally. 

Twenty-four duplicates, 22 of which were recoveries, have been excluded from the country's cumulative tally, said the DOH. 

Earlier, the ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team noted that the low number in testing "affects all data points such as the positivity rate, or the percentage of positive test results relative to the individuals tested."

The World Health Organization recommends a 5 percent positivity rate for at least 2 weeks to consider that the country's COVID-19 cases are controlled. 
 

WATCH: 

The government has so far administered more than 3 million COVID-19 vaccine jabs as of May 16, based on ABS-CBN News' monitoring. 

Of the total administered shots, almost 2.3 million Filipinos received their first dose while over 719,000 got their two doses. 

This is still far, however, from the government's 70 million maximum target by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus.

• Philippines: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

According to US-based Johns Hopkins University, more than 163.6 million have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally, since the pandemic emerged in the central city of Wuhan in China late 2019. 

Nearly 3.4 million, meanwhile, have died due to the virus. 

The Philippines' first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on Jan. 30 last year, involving a Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan City.