A team of DOH epidemiologists has been sent to COVID-19 hotspot Cebu City, which is located in Central Visayas, to look into the continued upsurge in cases in the area.

Of the newly reported cases, 467 are “fresh” or were detected within the last three days, while the other 163 are “late” cases or were part of the DOH’s validation backlog.

More fresh cases have been reported than late cases for over two weeks now.

The DOH also added 250 to the tally of recoveries, which rose to 8,143. However, the death toll is now at 1,177, after eight more lost their lives to the disease.

According to the latest bulletin, 257 of the new infections came from Central Visayas, while 174 were from Metro Manila. Other regions logged a total of 198, while one is an infected repatriate.

Meanwhile, another 2,160 more cases among Filipinos abroad have been recorded by the Department of Foreign Affairs. This brought the tally of infections to 8,301. A new batch of 2,193 patients also got well, while 10 died, pushing the total to 5,055 recoveries and 506 deaths.

Globally, more than 468,000 people have died from COVID-19, out of over nine million people who have fallen ill.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 22) — The country’s coronavirus cases went up to 30,682 on Monday, with the Department of Health reporting another 630 infections.

Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said that the group is validating ’assumptions’ that returning residents who were stranded in different parts of the country, returning overseas workers, outbreaks in jails and expanded testing led to the uptick in infections.

Cases among Filipinos abroad

Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Adnan Alonto said Monday morning that there are 107 overseas Filipino workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who died due to COVID-19, and whose remains are up for disposition.

READ: Remains of 353 OFWs in Saudi Arabia up for disposition