Daily virus cases hit new high in Philippines

JAKARTA, Indonesia

The daily COVID-19 count in the Philippines hit a new record on Thursday.

A total of 8,773 new cases were recorded in the country over the past day, raising the overall tally to 693,048, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health (DOH).

At least 56 more patients died in the Philippines, taking the death toll to 13,095, while recoveries increased by 574 to reach 580,062, the data showed.
The number of active cases in the country stands at 99,891 -- 14.4% of the total count, according to the DOH.

The Philippines has seen an alarming spike in infections over recent days, with the daily count topping 8,000 this Monday too.

The country is working to ramp up nationwide vaccinations that started on March 1.

It received 400,000 more doses of CoronaVac, the vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac, on Wednesday morning.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the shipment had come at an “opportune time” as it adds to the 600,000 doses that arrived last month.

The country has also received an initial 526,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX initiative.

*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita with Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language service