Philippines logs 1,631 new COVID-19 cases; total hits 425,918
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines reported 1,631 new coronavirus cases Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 425,918 as the country seeks to secure a vaccine against the disease.
Ten laboratories, however, failed to submit their data on time.
Quezon City recorded the most number of new infections with 116 additional cases. It was followed by Rizal with 101, Davao City with 95, Laguna with 89 and Manila City with 65.
The Philippines has the second largest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.
The number of recovered patients rose to 387,616 after the DOH logged 370 more recoveries. COVID-19 survivors account for 91% of the total recorded cases.
The death toll increased to 8,255 with 46 new fatalities.
A total of 30,047 or 7% of the cumulative cases are considered active. Of these, a vast majority are exhibiting mild symptoms.
Vaccine deal with AstraZeneca
The Philippine government and private firms signed a supply agreement for AstraZeneca’s potential COVID-19 vaccine Friday.
Carlito Galvez, the former general assigned as the country’s vaccine czar, said the deal would be for two million doses. This deal is separate from the 20 million doses the government eyes to purchase from the British-Swedish drugmaker using public money.
AstraZeneca said its inexpensive and easy-to-produce coronavirus vaccine could be up to 90% effective.
The government's goal is to vaccinate 60 to 70 million Filipinos against coronavirus in three to five years to achieve herd immunity. Some 35 million people were already identified as priority for inoculation.
COVID-19 has so far claimed the lives of 1.4 million victims from more than 60 million recorded infections since the virus emerged in China late last year.
- Latest
- Trending
