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PH COVID-19 cases now over 85,000, with 1,874 new infections.
Published Jul 29, 2020 4:30:00 PM
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 29) — The country’s coronavirus cases have surged past 85,000, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Wednesday.
The national tally of infected now stands at 85,486 — true to the 85,000 end-July total earlier projected by researchers from the University of the Philippines.
The latest figures came after 1,874 more people nationwide were confirmed to have caught the viral disease, the DOH said.
Metro Manila registered 728 of the newly-announced cases, according to the department’s case report.
Malacañang earlier said that should the UP forecast become a reality, the country's capital region, which is under a general community quarantine, may return to a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine.
Based on DOH data, Metro Manila has logged nearly 47,000 cases since the start of the outbreak — almost 11,000 of which were recorded over the past two weeks. To date, the disease has killed at least 1,000 of its residents, the department said.
The Wednesday's case report further detailed that Cebu accounted for 325 of the new cases, while Laguna had 130, Iloilo had 67, and Rizal had 53.
Another 388 patients have also recovered, bringing the total number of survivors to 26,996.
Meanwhile, the death toll has reached 1,962, with 16 more succumbing to the disease. Of the added deaths, six occurred in July, while the remaining 10 happened from March to June and were only recently validated.
The DOH said the number of active cases or currently ill patients nationwide is at 56,528.
Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire on Tuesday appealed to the public to exercise more caution and comply with minimum health standards, saying the country’s healthcare system is close to being overwhelmed amid rising COVID-19 cases.
The national government is expected to announce on Thursday new lockdown measures to be imposed on August 1. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque also said President Rodrigo Duterte may announce this week “major changes” in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including scaling up testing.
READ: ‘Major changes’ expected in PH COVID-19 pandemic response, Palace says