PH Covid-19 cases exceed 7K

The department also announced 40 new recoveries and 15 new deaths, bringing the total number of recoveries and fatalities to 762 and 477, respectively. (File Photo by CDC/Unsplash)

MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Friday a total of 7,192 confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the Philippines.

“As of 4 p.m. today (Friday), April 24, 2020, the Department of Health reports 211 new cases (PH6982 to PH7192) of Covid-19. The total number of cases in the country is now at 7,192,” the DOH said in a bulletin.

The department also announced 40 new recoveries and 15 new deaths, bringing the total number of recoveries and fatalities to 762 and 477, respectively.

“Kami po ay taos-pusong nakikiramay sa mga pamilya at kaibigan na naulila sa ating mga kababayang pumanaw dahil sa virus na ito (We send our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of those who died due to this virus),” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing.

As of Thursday, Vergeire said, the Philippines, which has 18 licensed Covid-19 laboratories nationwide, was able to conduct tests on at least 68,765 individuals, 60,004 of whom were negative while 8,645 were found infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus strain that causes Covid-19.

She explained that there may be discrepancies between the total confirmed cases and the number of positive individuals as the latter still undergo “case validation and processing.”

Meanwhile, Vergeire also shared that the DOH Covid-19 tracker website has been updated and will now feature new sets of information, such as the health status of confirmed Covid-19 cases and the health system capacity by region and provinces.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday extended the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 15 in the National Capital Region and several other provinces tagged as high-risk areas.

The ECQ, originally scheduled to end on April 30, was imposed in Luzon to arrest the spread of Covid-19.