MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines recorded 7,999 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, the second straight day that the country has reached a record in daily cases.
In a bulletin, the Ministry of Health said that the total number of confirmed cases had risen to 656 056, while the confirmed deaths reached 12 930, after thirty were still recorded on Saturday.
The country in Southeast Asia is struggling with a renewed increase in infections, including those of the new and more transmissible variants, which is delaying the further reopening of its pandemic economy.
“The country’s recorded COVID-19 cases remain high. It’s better to stay home if you do not need to go out,” the ministry said.
Graph: Philippines fights new boom in COVID-19 infection – https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/PHILIPPINES/bdwpkmebwpm/chart.png
The Philippines also recorded 114 COVID-19 cases due to new coronavirus variants, including six infections of the homemade P.3 variant, after a new series of genome sequences on 150 samples.
46 new infections of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in Britain have been reported, and 62 cases of the B.1.351 variant discovered in South Africa. This brings cases for the variants to stand at 223 and 152 respectively.
The Philippines has the second highest COVID-19 cases and deaths in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.
(Posted by Neil Jerome Morales; Edited by William Mallard and Kim Coghill)