NEW RECORD HIGH: Philippines logs 22,820 new COVID-19 cases

MANILA (UPDATED) - The Philippines on Thursday reported a new all-time high COVID-19 infections with 22,820 additional cases, as the country continues to battle a wave of infections due to the community transmission of the Delta variant.

The day's cases shattered Monday's record, when the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed 22,415 infections.

• READ: HIGHEST EVER: PH logs 22,415 fresh COVID-19 cases as NCR prepares shift to GCQ

DOH said they encountered issues with the agency's data repository system COVIDKaya, which has already been resolved. Earlier in the day, DOH corrected Wednesday's tally by adding over 5,000 cases.

The technical issues prompted the agency to post the bulletin at 8:30 p.m., later than the usual 4 p.m.

• READ: DOH adds 5,132 COVID-19 cases on Sept. 8 amid system issues; daily total at 17,883

The country's total novel coronavirus infections stood at 2,161,892, of which 166,672 are still active.

According to ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido, the number of those still battling the disease is the highest since April 17.

Positivity rate is at 29.4 percent based on the samples from 74,706 individuals on Tuesday. This is also the highest positivity rate since data became available from the agency, the analyst added.

COVID-related deaths, meanwhile, rose to 34,733 with 61 new fatalities.

This included 29 cases first classified as recoveries, according to the agency.

Recoveries also increased by 12,337 to 1,960,487.

A total of 108 duplicates, 96 of which are recoveries, have been excluded from the running tally, DOH said.

Five laboratories failed to submit data on time.

Based on the latest bulletin, Metro Manila's intensive care unit (ICU) beds are 73 percent occupied, while the ICU rate nationwide is at 75 percent.

Ward beds in the capital region are 73 percent in use. Nationwide, the ward beds utilization rate is at 72 percent.

GLOBAL DEATHS NEAR 4.6 MILLION

According to an Agence France-Presse tally, the novel coronavirus has killed at least 4,593,164 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019.

• READ: Coronavirus deaths near 4.6 million worldwide

The World Health Organization estimates that the pandemic's overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records, due to the excess mortality that is directly and indirectly linked to the respiratory disease.

The country confirmed its first case on Jan. 30 last year in a Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan City, China.

Meanwhile, a total of 15.83 million people in the Philippines are fully vaccinated from the virus, while 21.33 million have received their first doses.

Philippine authorities started its immunization program in March.

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