DOH records highest number of COVID-19 recoveries since outbreak; total at 1,618

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday recorded 112 recoveries from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the highest uptick in the number of recoveries since the first case of the disease was recorded in the country since late January.

This brought the total of recovered patients to 1,618 as of May 17.

There are also 339 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 10,343.

Meanwhile, the country’s death toll rose to 685 with 27 new fatalities.

The DOH has so far tested more than 120,000 people for the novel coronavirus or SASR-CoV-2 as of May 6.

DOH has been working towards an “expanded testing” or “targeted testing” although it missed achieving its 8,000 tests per day goal by the end of April.

It aimed to conduct at least 30,000 tests a day by the end of May to determine the “complete picture” of the pandemic in the country.

Unlike mass testing, “expanded testing” or “targeted testing” intended to broaden the scope of tests to include even exposed but asymptomatic patients and healthcare workers as among the priorities.

More than 3.7 million people across the globe have so far been afflicted with COVID-19. Of the number, over 260,000 have succumbed to the disease while more than 1.2 million others were able to recover.

EDV