MANILA, Philippines — With a caseload of over 314,000, the Philippines entered the list of 20 countries with the most number of coronavirus infections worldwide despite implementing one of the longest and strictest lockdowns.
The Department of Health reported 2,415 new cases Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 314,079. The Philippines overtook Pakistan’s caseload of 312,806, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center and the Worldometers site.
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At the 19th place is Italy, which has 317,861 cases.
The Philippines has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has 291,182 confirmed infections.
The United States remains the country with the most coronavirus infections globally, reporting 7.27 million cases. It is followed by India with 6.31 million cases, Brazil with 4.81 million cases and Russia with 1.17 million cases.
Thursday's numbers
The Philippines is still reporting thousands of new cases every day although the DOH said there seemed to be a downtrend in the number of additional infections. The agency, however, advised the public to continue practicing minimum health standards.
Of Thursday’s additional cases, 83% contracted COVID-19 in the last two weeks. Outbreak epicenter Metro Manila continues to be the top source of new infections.
The country’s death toll also increased to 5,562 after 59 more people succumbed to the severe respiratory illness. Meanwhile, 771 new recoveries were reported, raising the total to 254,223.
Active cases in the country stood at 54,294 or 17% of the total caseload.
Researchers studying the coronavirus outbreak in the country projected that total cases in the Philippines would reach 380,000 to 410,000 by end-October.
Globally, the new coronavirus has infected more than 34.1 million individuals, with over 1.017 million deaths.