MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:19 p.m.) — The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the Philippines soared to 14,669 after the Department of Health reported a huge increase in the number of new cases Tuesday.
The DOH reported 350 additional cases more than a week since the national government began easing restrictions on movement nationwide. This is the highest single-day tally since April 6 when the country recorded 414 additional cases.
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In a DOH briefing, Dr. Takeshi Nishijima, World Health Organization Western Pacific regional office technical officer, said the number of newly-reported cases in the Philippines “is not rapidly decreasing even after the strict implementation of community quarantine.”
“In the Philippines, we are seeing the new number of cases, which is kind of stabilized a bit. We are hoping that it will decrease in the future. But for that, I think we need to be prepared to continue what we do right now,” Nishijima said as he urged Filipinos to stay home, observe physical distancing and practice cough etiquette and frequent handwashing.
Eighty-nine more people recovered from COVID-19, pushing the number of people who have survived the respiratory disease to 3,412.
But the DOH recorded 13 additional deaths related to COVID-19. This brought to 886 the country’s fatality count.
The number of number of active cases stood at 10,371 Tuesday, the agency added.
Currently, there are 42 licensed laboratories capable of processing samples for COVID-19 nationwide. As of May 24, a total of 301,677 tests have been conducted in the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to make a decision this week on whether or not Metro Manila and other high-risk areas of COVID-19 transmission will shift to more relaxed general community quarantine.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed 346,269 people worldwide with the global caseload approaching 5.5 million.
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