MANILA – The number of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the Philippines has climbed to 21,895 after the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 555 new cases Sunday.
The new cases account for 378 "fresh" test results or those reported within the last three days and 177 late cases or backlogs validated only recently.
Of the overall tally, 89 are new recoveries raising the number to 4,530.
Meanwhile, total deaths breached the 1,000-mark with nine new fatalities.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier reported that the DOH is looking at accrediting about 58 laboratories by mid-July 2020 to ramp up efforts to contain Covid-19.
There are 52 laboratories so far licensed to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus strain causing the Covid-19.
And of these laboratories, 40 can use reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests while the remaining 12 are using the alternative GeneXpert technology. (PNA)
