The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Wednesday 1,266 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the Southeast Asian country's total tally to 530,118.
The death toll rose to 10,942 after 68 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic, the DOH said. It added that 130 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 487,721.
The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 7.4 million people since the viral disease emerged in January last year.
Carlito Galvez, the National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer, told a virtual press conference that the Philippine government plans to administer the first batch of 117,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the World Health Orgzation-led COVAX facility to around 56,000 healthcare workers in four government COVID-19 hospitals in Metro Mla.
Galvez said the vaccine to be delivered this month will also be administered to health workers in a public hospital in Davao City in the southern Philippines and another hospital in Cebu City in the central Philippines.
He said the 117,000 doses could only inoculate 58,500 nurses, doctors, and medical workers.
The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year, starting with healthcare workers, the elderly, and the poor communities. (/Xinhua)
( With inputs from ANI )
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