MANILA, Philippines (Updated, 5:27 p.m.) — The number of people who have contracted the coronavirus disease in the Philippines climbed to 14,319 Monday, the Department of Health said.
DOH reported 284 additional infections more than a week since the national government began easing restrictions on movement. Of the newly-reported cases, 60% were from outbreak epicenter Metro Manila.
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Some 25% of the additional cases were from Central Visayas, while 15% were reported elsewhere in the country.
The number of people who have survived the respiratory disease reached 3,323 with the addition of 74 more recoveries. COVID-19 survivors accounted for 23% of the country’s confirmed cases.
But five more people succumbed to the illness, bringing the death toll to 873.
DOH said the number of active cases stood at 10,123.
Malacañang on Monday said the country has met its target of national testing capacity of 30,000 per day. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire clarified, however, that the figure was just an estimate based on the number of machines, human resources and operating hours per laboratory.
Actual number of tests conducted daily ranges between 8,500 and 9,500.
A total of 295,593 tests were conducted in the Philippines as of May 23. The country is eyeing to test 1% to 2% of the population, similar with levels in South Korea and Taiwan that have put the coronavirus pandemic under control.
Some 345,104 people have died out of more than 5.4 million confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide.