MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday reported 778 additional coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections, raising the overall tally to 33,069.
The DOH said 363 of the additional cases are "late" or results belatedly reported and were only verified recently, while 415 are "fresh cases" or results released to the patient within the past three days.
Of the fresh cases, 250 are from the National Capital Region (NCR), 72 from Central Visayas, and the remaining 93 from other regions.
Meanwhile, some 202 of the late cases are from the NCR, 34 from Central Visayas, and the remaining 127 from other regions.
The DOH also reported 255 new recoveries and eight new deaths.
To date, the total number of recoveries nationwide is 8,910, while the death toll is 1,212.
In a Covid-19 virtual presser, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire attributed the spike in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases to the increased testing capacity of the laboratories and loosening of certain quarantine restrictions.
Vergeire said the country's health care system has sufficient capacity to care for patients with Covid-19 but the DOH is monitoring the emerging hotspots outside the NCR.
"Mariin pong pinaaalala ng Kagawaran ng Kalusugan na huwag po tayo maging kampante at ating patuloy na sundin ang mga minimum health standards and safety protocols (The DOH reminds the public not to be complacent and to continue observing the minimum health standards and safety protocols),” she said. “The government is committed with the help of the private sector to emphasize across all available platforms on every Filipino our preventive measures by reminding everyone that our safety (is) all in our hands." (PNA)
