Manila [Philippines] : The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,656 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, pushing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,800,621. The DOH also reported that 154 more people died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the country’s death toll to 42,239. Eight laboratories failed to submit data. The number of deaths reported in the daily bulletin includes deaths from previous months, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a virtual news conference Saturday. She said the country now tallies an average of dozens of deaths daily from a peak of 193 in September. In October, the average number of deaths per day was 73. Of the 154 deaths reported on Saturday, 118 were previously tagged as recoveries and reclassified as deaths after final validation, the DOH said. The country has battled three waves of infections since the outbreak last year. The last wave peaked in September when the DOH reported its highest daily tally on Sept. 11 with 26,303 cases. The Philippines, which has a population of around 110 million, has tested more than 21.5 million people since the pandemic.
