TOTAL coronavirus infections in the country surged to 16,634 Friday, May 26, as the Department of Health (DOH) reported a new high of 1,046 additional cases that were reported in the last 24 hours.
Of the 1,046, however, 1,000 are late cases and only 46 are fresh cases.
Fresh cases refer to positive test results that were released in the last three days while late cases refer to results that were released at least four days ago but were reported to the DOH Epidemiology Bureau only in the last 24 hours.
Friday’s fresh cases are less than half of the 109 fresh cases on Thursday, May 28.
Late cases, on the other hand, more than doubled on Friday from 430 on Thursday.
The number of confirmed cases added to DOH’s total case count was 1,046, almost double the 539 cases on Thursday.
Based on the modified case bulletin issued at 8 p.m. Friday, the spike in the number of cases is due to the “more complete and timely submission of the laboratories of their line list and the recent deployment of the Covid-Kaya information system.”
The DOH also reported 21 deaths Friday, raising the death toll to 942.
Recoveries reached 3,720, with 122 reported in the last 24 hours.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier announced the new format of their daily case bulletin in a bid to prevent misinterpretation of their data.
Read: DOH modifies bulletin to allay fears over high number of cases
Vergeire has attributed the spike in cases to the Epidemiology Bureau’s improved capability to validacte cases with the hiring of additional disease surveillance officers and the Covid-Kaya system. (Marites Villamor-Ilano/SunStar Philippines)