The Philippines on Saturday reported 4,351 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, bringing the nationwide total to 157,918, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

This marks the fourth consecutive day where over 4,000 cases were reported.

Meanwhile, the provinces or cities with the highest number of new cases are the National Capital Region with 2,460, Laguna with 232, Cavite with 211, Cebu with 187, and Rizal with 184, according to DOH COVID-19 Case  Bukketin #154.

Of the 4,351 reported cases today, 3,469 (80%) occurred within the recent 14 days (August 2 – 15, 2020). The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were NCR (1,952 or 56%), Region 4A ( 566 or 16%) and Region 7 (181 or 5%).

Of the 159 deaths, 57 (36%) in August, 61 (38%) in July, 37 (23%) in June, 3 (2%) in May, and 1 (1%) in April. Deaths were from Region 7 (71 or 45%), NCR (61 or 38%), Region 4A (16 or 10%), Region 5 (4 or 3%), Region 9 (2 or 1%), Region 3 (2 or 1%), Region 12 (1 or 1%), Region 1 (1 or 1%), and BARMM (1 or 1%).

Ninety-three cases were also removed from the total case count.

Total recoveries also rose to 72,209 after 885 more patients have recovered from the illness, while the death toll in the country increased to 2,600 with 159 new fatalities.

Among the new deaths, 57 or 36% occurred in August, 61 or 38% in July, 37 or 23% in June, three or 2% in May, and one or one percent in April.

There are also 83,109 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine. Of this, 91 percent are mild, 7.5 percent are asymptomatic, 0.6 percent are severe, and 0.9 percent are in critical condition.

At present, the Philippines has 80 certified polymerase chain reaction facilities and 27 GeneXpert laboratories that have tested a total of 1,859,942 individuals.

Meanwhile, 50 percent of intensive care unit beds for patients are occupied while 29 percent of ventilators are being used.

Cases were reported  based on the total tests done by 96 out of 103 current operational labs.

Moreover, there were 71 cases that were previously reported as recovered but after final validation, they were 70 deaths and 1 active case. One case previously reported as a death has been validated to be a recovery.

These numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation./Stacy Ang