PH virus tally breaches 161,000; over 40,000 new recoveries also reported

MANILA - (UPDATE) The Philippines reported 3,420 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday bringing the country’s total to 161,253.

The Department of Health also reported 40,397 new recoveries -- the highest in the single day-- as the DOH implemented “time-based and symptom-based mass recovery adjustment” pushing the total number of Filipinos who recovered from the disease to 112,586.

This pushed down the number of active COVID-19 cases to 46,002 from 83,109 just a day ago.

According to the DOH’s “mass recovery adjustment,” mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are declared recovered after 14 days of quarantine. The DOH said this is at par with international standards.

The DOH first implemented this on July 30 when it reported 38,075 new recoveries. Mass recovery adjustments will be announced every Sunday, the DOH has said.

Meanwhile, 65 more deaths were reported from the illness, bringing COVID-19’s death toll in the Philippines to 2,665. 

The National Capital Region had the most number of new cases at 2,091. It was followed by Laguna with 263 cases, Cavite with 149, Batangas with 137 and Rizal with 106.

The Philippines has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, despite implementing one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. 

President Rodrigo Duterte reimposed stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for 2 weeks over Metro Manila and four nearby provinces as virus cases surged. 

Duterte is expected to announce fresh quarantine classifications on Monday, Aug. 17, a day before the MECQ in Metro Manila and nearby provinces expires.

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Worldwide, the novel coronavirus has infected 21.46 million since the outbreak was first reported in China in late 2019. It has also killed more than 771,000 people, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The United States has reported the most number of infections at over 5.3 million, with over 169,000 deaths.