PH records 1,470 new COVID-19 cases, total tops 454,000

MANILA — The Philippines on Thursday logged 1,470 more COVID-19 infections, pushing the country’s total to 454,447 while the government prepares for a spike of new cases as more Filipinos participate in holiday activities.

The day’s tally marked the 18th straight day that additional cases counted fewer than 2,000, and the 6th straight day below the 1,500-mark.

It does not, however, include data from 8 accredited laboratories that failed to submit results to the COVID-19 Data Repository System on Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) noted. 

Quezon City topped the areas in the country with newly-recorded cases, after logging 74 additional infections. It is followed by the province of Rizal with 64, Makati City with 58, Davao City with 55, and the province of Quezon with 46.

The number of recoveries increased to 419,902 as the DOH recorded 633 more patients who recovered. The total recoveries account for 92.4 percent of the total recorded cases.

Seventeen more people died because of the coronavirus, the health department said. The death toll stood at 8,850.

WATCH: Spike in COVID-19 cases seen in several PH areas as holiday activities mount — DOH

Active infections in the country, meanwhile, reached 25,695. The DOH said 91.6 percent of patients currently ill are asymptomatic or exhibiting mild symptoms, while 5.4 percent are critically ill.

Of the 25,106 people who were tested as of Wednesday noon, 1,582 or 6.3 percent were confirmed positive for the disease, data showed.

A total of 11 “duplicates” were removed from the total tally, the DOH said. Of these, 10 recovered cases and a death were removed. 

Three patients previously tagged as recovered cases were also reclassified into deaths after the agency’s validation. 

More details to follow.