GOVERNMENT data have shown a downtrend in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, but the number of new infections has continued to exceed 2,000 a day.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday, October 11, 2020, reported 2,502 new cases of coronavirus infection, bringing the total case count in the country to 339,341.
In the past seven days from October 5 to 11, new cases averaged 2,406 daily, a slight decline of almost eight percent from the 2,610 average number of new cases a day from September 28 to October 4.
In its case bulletin at 4 p.m. Sunday, DOH also reported another “mass recovery” of 17,057 using the time-based recovery strategy, increasing the total recoveries to 293,075.
Under the time-based strategy, coronavirus-positive individuals with mild or no symptoms are declared as recoveries if they have had no symptoms for more than 14 days, the incubation period of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
However, 41 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.
The agency reported 83 additional deaths Sunday, raising the death toll from Covid-19 to 6,321.
Of these newly confirmed deaths, 24 occurred in October, 21 in September, 23 in August, nine in July, two in June, one in May, two in April and one in March.
The National Capital Region (NCR), epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in the Philippines, accounted for 39 deaths, followed by Calabarzon with 17 and Western Visayas with 10.
Other regions with mortalities were Northern Mindanao (5), Central Luzon (4), Ilocos (2), Central Visayas (2), Eastern Visayas (1) and Caraga (1). Two returning migrant workers also died.
Of the 339,341 total cases in the country, 39,945 were active as of Sunday. More than eight of 10, or 83 percent, developed mild symptoms while 11 percent were asymptomatic.
Critical and severe patients constituted 3.9 percent and 1.8 percent of the active cases.
Among the new cases reported Sunday, meanwhile, were 782 from NCR, 141 from Rizal, 128 from Laguna, 125 from Cavite and 119 from Bulacan.
Majority of these new cases, or 2,106, occurred within the recent 14 days from September 28 to October 11.
DOH said 87 duplicates were removed from the total case count while 15 laboratories were not able to submit their data to the Covid-19 Data Repository System on October 10.
As of October 11, more than 3.87 individuals in the Philippines have been tested for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
Globally, over 37.2 million people have been infected and more than 1.07 million had died as of October 11, 2020, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. (Marites Villamor-Ilano/SunStar Philippines)