The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 6,414 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 819,164.
The death toll climbed to 14,059 after 242 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reminded the public that the decrease in the number of cases must not be interpreted as a downward trend, saying there were testing laboratories that did not operate and submit data last week due to the holiday.Vergeire said in an online briefing that the transmission is still high, urging people not to be complacent.
"The age groups most affected by COVID-19 are those aged 20 to 49 years old. There are more younger people that are having severe infections compared to before. We are looking at this matter," Vergeire said.
The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 9.8 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.
World Health Orgzation Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai on Wednesday expressed concern about the surging COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, warning that the increasing trend "is moving towards the red line". (/Xinhua)
( With inputs from ANI )
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