MORE than 20,000 recoveries were reported by the Department of Health yesterday but there were 3,311 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 286,743.
It was the 13th straight day that more than 3,000 cases new cases were reported since 1,383 cases were reported last September 7, days after the DOH reported the country was starting to flatten the curve.
Of the new cases, 1,435 came from the National Capital Region while Negros Occidental had 261, Laguna 231, Rizal 204, and Cavite 174.
The DOH said there were 20,021 new recoveries as the number of survivors reached 229,865.
There were, however, 55 more deaths, raising the number of fatalities to 4,984.
Majority of the new deaths were recorded in NCR with 29. Other deaths were mostly reported from Central Visayas (6), Western Visayas (5), and CALABARZON (4).
The DOH had attributed the high number of recoveries to its “Oplan Recovery,” a program that monitors the status of confirmed COVID-19 cases with mild symptoms and are asymptomatic.
The “Oplan Recovery” uses the time-based recovery system, where patients who have completed the 14-day isolation period and are cleared by physician are tagged as having recovered despite not undergoing repeat RT-PCR testing.
The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that four more overseas Filipinos were infected by the deadly virus, bringing the total number so far to 10,390 in 77 countries. — With Ashzel Hachero
