(Eagle News)–COVID-19 cases in the country breached the 354,000 mark on Saturday, Oct. 17, after the Department of Health reported 2673 additional cases.
Of the 354,338 total cases, the DOH said 52423 were active.
Of these, 84.7 percent were mild, 11 percent asymptomatic, 1.5 percent severe, and 2.9 percent critical.
Of the 2673 newly-reported cases, the DOH said Rizal contributed 185, Cavite 175, Batangas 159, Quezon City 143, and Bulacan 88.
The DOH said Metro Manila was among the regions with the most COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days, with 646 cases or 28 percent, Region IV-A with 26 percent or 703 cases, and Region 3 with 9 percent or 213 cases.
Recoveries rose to 295312 including the 539 reported today.
The death toll rose to 6603, including the 73 more reported.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the COVID-19 national action plan, has attributed the low COVID-19 count in recent days to the behavioral change in Filipinos and the infomercials on safety protocols featuring President Rodrigo Duterte.
But a group of University of the Philippines researches studying COVID-19 in the country has warned the trend was not irreversible, and urged members of the public to not let their guard down.
