The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines has breached the 32,000 mark on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 470 more infections—357 “fresh” or newly validated and 113 reported “late”—bringing the total to 32,295.
Total recoveries also rose to 8,656 after 214 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness.
The death toll climbed to 1,204 with 18 new fatalities.
This marks the 14th straight day of over 200 new recoveries.
On Tuesday, the Philippines recorded its highest number of new cases in a single day at 1,150 as well as the highest number of fresh cases at 789.
Among the fresh cases, 159 are from Metro Manila, 141 are from Region VII, while the remaining 57 are spread out across the country.
Among the late cases, 66 are from Metro Manila, four are from Region VII, while the 43 other patients came from various areas nationwide.
As of June 22, the Philippines has 48 certified polymerase chain reaction facilities and 17 GeneXpert laboratories that have tested a total of 568,633 individuals.
Meanwhile, the rising number of Filipinos infected with the COVID-19 virus, surpassing the 30,000 mark, reflects the incompetence and blunder of the Duterte regime, the militant Anakpawis Partylist said on Wednesday.
“It continues to uphold the inappropriate militarist response, instead of the exact comprehensive medical approach; thus, it failed to flatten the curve of the pandemic. Worse, the data on which the curve is based is contaminated or controlled by the Department of Health, on its own discretion of declaring the daily number of infected, and weakness in its capacity of testing suspected patients. Apparently, the government is experimenting authoritarian measures such as lockdowns than containing the pandemic, all detrimental to the people’s welfare, and even middle class and business sector,” Ariel Casilao, Anakpawis Party-list former representative, said in a press statement./Stacy Ang
