The Philippines’ death toll from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased by 8, climbing to 96 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the fatalities.
The DOH also announced that the number of infections nationwide rose to 2,311, increasing by 227 new cases.
The government is also considering a “massive forced quarantine” to stem the spread of COVID-19.
The DOH recorded one case of recovery bringing the total to 50.
The DOH earlier said that the surge in cases this month is caused by the expansion of the country’s testing capacity after several sub-national laboratories became operational, while over 40 more are seeking certification to conduct tests.
As of Wednesday, the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard has recorded more than 860,000 COVID-19 cases around the world.
Of that number, 178,000 have recovered and more than 42,000 have died.
Since March 16, the Philippine island of Luzon has been on lockdown with public transportation and other services suspended in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19./Stacy Ang
