The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has breached the 20,000 mark, with 634 additional cases – 313 fresh cases and 321 late cases – bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 20,382.
Fresh cases are those who had their test results released and validated in the last 3 days, while late cases were validated and confirmed late.
Of the 313 fresh cases, 114 came from the National Capital Region (NCR) and 101 came from Region 7. A total of 97 came from other regions and one was a Filipino repatriate.
Of the 321 late cases, 44 came from NCR, 37 from Region 7 and 177 from other regions. A total of 63 were Filipino repatriates.
The DOH also reported 984 deaths, with 10 new fatalities.
Recoveries was logged at 4,248, with 95 new recoveries.
On Wednesday, the DOH said the spike in cases from Region 7 or Central Visayas was because one of the two laboratories there only submitted its accomplishment report this week.
While NCR is still considered the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines, Cebu is considered a hotspot after a spike in cases were observed last month.
The DOH started using the new classification of additional cases last week after new cases spiked because of their more aggressive validation efforts. It has caused confusion among the public, but the DOH explained that it is needed to better see the actual situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
It also coincided with the shift to general community quarantine in Metro Manila, considered the epicenter of the outbreak, and other areas as government eased business and transportation restrictions.
People infected with COVID-19 worldwide reached more than 6.5 million on Thursday, based on the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard./Stacy Ang
