PUTTING a positive spin on its daily bulletin, the Department of Health on Monday reported a new record high of 4,325 patients who have recovered from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) but this was weighed down by more deaths that brought the number of fatalities to nearly 1,600.
The department’s July 13 case bulletin showed the number of recoveries has reached 20,371, counting the 2,009 recoveries on Sunday that topped the previous record of 807 recoveries last July 11.
But 836 new cases were also reported Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 57,006, including 2,124 cases on Sunday.
The department also reported 65 new deaths coming just hours after reporting 162 deaths Sunday, the highest in Southeast Asia so far since the pandemic was declared last March.
In all, the Philippines has recorded 1,599 fatalities.
The latest figures released by the DOH fixed the discrepancy in the number of active cases, deaths and recoveries for the first time since the department started keeping tab on the deadly virus (see data above), i.e. the total number of active cases (35,036) plus the number of recoveries (20,371) and deaths (1,599) add up to 57,006.
Globally, as of July 12, there were 12,552,765 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 561,617 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
The DOH on Sunday did not release the latest numbers on the deadly virus due to what it said was the “significant volume of data” it was validating.
In a televised press briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the reported deaths on Sunday did not happen in one day. She said majority of the newly-reported deaths happened last June with 90 (56%), while others occurred in May (20, 12%), and April (1, 1%).
“Out of 162 deaths, only 51 (31%) happened in July. And of the 51, 18 happened last week, while the other 33 happened in the first week of July,” said Vergeire.
Similarly, she noted that not all new recoveries happened on the same day.
“A total of 804 recoveries were tallied since Saturday,” Vergeire said.
She attributed the delay in the reporting of deaths and recoveries to the failure of local government units (LGUs) to transmit data immediately to the DOH.
“Our LGUs have direct access to the information and developments in their respective areas regarding COVID-19. Because of this, some data are not immediately transmitted to the DOH,” said Vergeire.
With their recent efforts to harmonize the reporting system, she said the public should expect more data to be reported and validated by the DOH in the coming days.
“We expect more deaths and recoveries to be reported in the coming days as a result of our data reconciliation efforts, and we thank our LGUs for their support and cooperation the last few weeks,” said Vergeire.
MORE DEATHS ABROAD
The Middle East remained the region with the most number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities among overseas Filipinos, the DFA reported.
DFA data showed that of the seven new fatalities Monday, six were recorded in the Middle East, bringing the death toll among the Filipino community in the region to 349 while the number of cases now stands at 6,429.
The seventh fatality was recorded in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing the death toll there to five with 688 cases.
Europe recorded 1,053 cases and 95 deaths while the Americas reported 699 cases and 169 deaths.
Aside from the seven new deaths, the DFA also reported 15 new cases, bringing the number to 8,869 in 64 countries while the number of recoveries rose to 5,276 after two new recoveries in the Asia and the Pacific and Europe.
The DFA said 618 overseas Filipinos have succumbed to the virus while 2,975 are still hospitalized.
The number of cops infected with COVID-19 now stands at 1,089, with nine deaths, and 500 recoveries as of July 12, according to the PNP. Of the number, the PNP said 670 were probable cases, while 1,422 were suspected to infected with the virus.
PNP chief Archie Gamboa said most of the cops were infected while manning quarantine control points.
“But the good news is that majority of the infected cops are asymptomatic but nevertheless after they were tested positive they will undergo the usual 14-day quarantine and then they will be tested again,” Gamboa said.
Gamboa also asked local government units nationwide to come up with relevant ordinances related to community quarantine so that violators need not be jailed the first time they are apprehended.
Gamboa said jail facilities are already overcrowded.
He called on the people anew to follow health standards to stop the spread of the disease.