Manila [Philippines], September 21: The Philippines reported 1,600 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,925,326.
The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases dropped to 27,257, while 33 patients died from COVID-19 complications, taking the death toll to 62,587.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, recorded 743 new cases.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said infections in Metro Manila continued to rise, adding that COVID-19 infections in the rest of the Luzon island and Mindanao region in the southern Philippines show signs of "plateauing," while the Visayas region in the central Philippines "maintain a slow downward trend."
Vergeire said that severe and critical admissions and those patients needing intensive care in Metro Manila hospitals continued a "slow uptrend."
She attributed the rise in daily new infections to people's mobility following the opening of face-to-face classes and businesses.
The Philippines reported its highest COVID-19 single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan. 15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated over 72.9 million people.
Source: Xinhua
