COVID-19 PANDEMIC: Philippines’ cases climb past 224,264 as Metro Manila stays under General Community Quarantine
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“The 2019 Plague” Day 278
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MANILA, Philippines — Recorded cases of the new coronavirus in the Philippines reached 224,264 Tuesday as the government opted to place Metro Manila and other urban areas under general community quarantine until end-September.
The Department of Health reported 3,483 additional coronavirus cases, more than half of which were from Metro Manila. It was followed by Laguna (223), Cavite (184), Rizal (161) and Batangas (126).
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Around 92% of the additional infections were from the last two weeks.
President Rodrigo Duterte kept partial restrictions in the capital region for a month starting Tuesday. Other areas under GCQ include Bulacan, Batangas, Tacloban City in Eastern Visayas and Bacolod City in Western Visayas.
He also placed Iligan City in Northern Mindanao under modified enhanced community quarantine.
The rest of the country, meanwhile, would remain under modified GCQ—the most relaxed form of community quarantine.
The DOH also logged 464 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the tally of COVID-19 survivors to 158,012.
The country’s death toll rose to 3,597 with 39 additional deaths. The department said 34 of the new fatalities occurred in August, while the remaining five deaths happened in the months of May, June and July.
The number of active infections stood at 62,655.
Tuesday’s figures were based on the tests done by 93 out of 110 laboratories. A total of 38 duplicate cases were removed from the case count.
In a briefing aired late Monday, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said the daily cases remain high, citing the need to intensify preventive measures to slow the transmission of the virus. The Philippines has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia.
The pandemic has killed at least 847,000 people worldwide since surfacing in China late last year. More than 25.2 million cases have been registered.
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9.2.2020
