Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 18) — The number of coronavirus infections nationwide has surpassed 6,000 cases as the Department of Health confirmed 209 new patients on Saturday.
BREAKING: Philippines' COVID-19 cases exceed 6,000 with the DOH confirming 209 new patients today. Number of recoveries rises to 516, death toll now at 397.
Follow our live blog for more updates: https://t.co/H79UkAR3UA pic.twitter.com/dCwtH5PbCj
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) April 18, 2020
The country has also been seeing a rise in the number or recoveries, which is now at 516. The DOH said 29 more people have survived the disease.
All in all, the Philippines has recorded 6,087 cases of COVID-19 three months into the outbreak. The number includes those under treatment and those who have died or recovered from the viral illness.
Meanwhile, 10 more patients have died of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 397.
The Philippines has a case fatality rate of 6.6 percent, the DOH has pointed out.
This is slightly higher than the global average of 6.4 percent. The DOH said most fatalities belong to the age group 50 years old and above.
There have been more recoveries than deaths for a third consecutive day as the DOH included in its report those who have gotten well while under home quarantine. Previously, its count only included those confined in hospitals.
The DOH has also explained that it takes around 13 days up to more than a month for patients to recover, depending on the severity of their symptoms.
To contain the spread of the virus, the government has placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine for a month now, suspending most work, classes, and mass transportation so people would stay home.
The Luzon-wide quarantine has been extended until April 30 amid daily spikes in new infections. Other local government units across the country enforced their own lockdowns.
The Philippines confirmed its first case in late January, a month after the coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 has since infected more than 2.2 million worldwide and killed over 154,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 global tracker.
