MANILA — Confirmed coronavirus infections in the Philippines breached the 375,000-mark on Wednesday as the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 2,053 additional cases.

Based on its latest bulletin, the DOH said the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 375,180, of which, 38,955, or 10.4%, are active.

Of the active cases, 83% have mild symptoms, 11.1% are asymptomatic, 3.8% are in critical condition, and 2.2% have severe symptoms.

Wednesday's new cases do not include data from 11 laboratories that failed to submit their results on time, the DOH said.

Of the newly-announced infections, 108 are from Caloocan City, 103 are from Quezon City, 97 are from Negros Occidental, 93 are from Benguet, and 85 are from Rizal.

The DOH reported 540 additional recovered patients and 61 new COVID-related deaths.

Total recoveries climbed to 329,111, while the death toll stood at 7,114.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

The DOH said that of the 24,970 people who were tested on Tuesday, 1,673, or 6.7%, tested positive for COVID-19.

A total of 17 duplicate cases, 14 tagged as recovered, were removed from the total tally. The DOH also reclassified 17 recovered cases after finding out they were actually deaths.

BENGUET

This is the 2nd straight day that Benguet is included in the top 5 provinces and cities with the most number of new COVID-19 cases.

Reports recently showed that a number of mining sites in Benguet experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases, resulting in the halting of some mining operations.

• DOH to investigate surge in COVID-19 cases in Benguet mine sites

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday said while the same health protocols are suggested for mine sites, there is a higher risk because of the enclosed spaces and the possibly large number of workers there.

The DOH will investigate the cause of the spike in cases in the sites, she said.

The OCTA Research Group, composed of professors from the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, estimates that COVID-19 cases in the Philippines will reach 380,000 to 410,000 by the end of this month.

Since the start of the pandemic, almost 44 million people have been infected by the COVID-19 virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard. Of those, almost 1.17 million have died and 29.8 million have recovered.

The Philippines logged its first case on Jan. 30 in a Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan City, China where the disease is believed to have first emerged.