Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 3) — The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has breached 9,000 with the Department of Health reporting 295 new cases, the highest daily increase in cases in nearly a month, bringing the total number to 9,223.
The country also recorded the highest number of recoveries in a single day, with the DOH registering Sunday 90 people who have survived the viral disease, bringing the total number to 1,214.
Four more people, however, died due to COVID-19, raising the death toll to 607. This is the lowest daily death tally since March 29.
Most of the new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Central Visayas, with 120 cases being reported there. Of that number, 116 were reported in Cebu alone, while two were reported in Mandaue City and two more are up for validation.
Metro Manila follows with 116 new COVID-19 cases, 82 of which are still up for validation. Parañaque City recorded 13 new cases, Quezon City has five more, San Juan City has three more, while Pasay City, Muntinlupa City and Makati City each have two more, and Taguig City, Pasig City and Las Piñas City each have one more case.
At far third is Zamboanga Peninsula, which recorded 22 new COVID-19 cases, all of which were from Zamboanga City.
Seventeen new cases, meanwhile, were reported in Calabarzon, 12 in Davao Region, four in Western Visayas, and one each in Ilocos Region, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas and Caraga. One more case is up for validation, according to the DOH.
Majority of the patients have mild symptoms, which usually take around 13 days to treat. More severe cases take up to more than a month to get cleared.
The DOH earlier explained that its reports, including the number of new infections, are not the real-time data since cases have to be validated before they are made public.
Authorities have attributed the rise in cases to expanded coronavirus testing. The country now has a daily testing capacity of up to 6,420 per day, stressing that this is bound to increase as the government procures and receives more test kits.
To contain the spread of the virus, the entire country is placed under general community quarantine. Areas considered as high-risk, such as Metro Manila, are under a stricter enhanced community quarantine, where stay-at-home orders, and suspension of most work and mass transport are in place.
Worldwide, COVID-19 has infected more than 3.4 million and killed 244,000 since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
