COVID-19 infections in Philippines rise to 13,777, active cases at 9,737

MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 4:54 p.m.) — The Department of Health on late Saturday afternoon announced 180 more cases of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country, bringing the total to 13,777.

Of which, there are still 9,737 active cases accounting for 6 new fatalities and 85 new recoveries.

The death toll now stands at 863, while the total survivor count has reached 3,177.

This week saw 1,472 additional COVID-19 cases on top of the 12,305 recorded as of last Saturday.

However, the health department on Friday said that thousands who tested positive for the coronavirus are still being validated due to issues like potential duplicate cases of those with similar names.

“Ang validation po ng confirmed cases ay isang mahaba at masalimuot na prosesong kinakailangan pinaglalaanan ng mahabang oras upang masiguro na tama ang impormasyon at datos na ating inilalabas,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a Friday briefing.

The past week saw a daily average of 210 new cases, 6 deaths and 88 recoveries.

Since Sunday, a relatively low 46 were reported to have succumbed to the respiratory disease — the lowest weekly death total since April.

Almost 5 million cases of the coronavirus, including around 327,000 deaths, have been logged globally by the World Health Organization in its latest situation report.