The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday reported 1,396 additional COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 51,754.

“As of 4PM today, July 9, 2020, the Department of Health reports the total number of COVID-19 cases at 51,754,” said DOH COVID-19 CASE BULLETIN #117.

“In addition to the 1,184 fresh cases, 211 late cases were also reported today. Today’s fresh cases are based on the daily accomplishment reports submitted by only 62 out of 74 current operational labs.”

“DOH likewise announces 225 recoveries. This brings the total number of recoveries to 12,813,” DOH said.

“No additional death reported today,” DOH said. The total number of coronavirus-related fatalities remaining at 1,314.

While this daily total is lower than the day before, when a record-high number of additional cases was recorded, it is still within the range of the relatively high number of new cases reported in the past days.

Fresh cases refer to those whose test results were released within the last 3 days, while late cases are those whose results were released four days ago or earlier.

Of the fresh cases, 390 are from the National Capital Region, 243 from Region 7 or Central Visayas, 67 are among repatriated Filipinos, and 484 are tagged as “others,” which may refer to cases from outside Metro Manila and those without location data.

Of the late cases, 53 are from NCR, 47 from Region 7, 3 are repatriates and 108 are tagged as others.

The Philippines reached a record-high number of additional COVID-19 cases on Wednesday evening as the Department of Health reported 2,539 cases.

The number of additional cases has been increasing in the last week. The DOH has attributed this to the easing of community quarantine restrictions as the country gradually reopened the economy.

While Metro Manila remains the epicenter of the outbreak, parts of Cebu island have been identified as hotspots or areas with an increasing number of cases. The DOH has assured the public that the health sector is still able to manage the rise in cases.

Some 12 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard. More than 6.5. million of those people have already recovered while almost 550,000 have died. /Stacy Ang