The Philippines has reached a grim point after the death toll from the COVID-19 exceeded the 20,000 mark.
The Department of Health reported 36 new fatalities on Tuesday, May 25 bringing the death toll to 20,019.
The department also recorded 3,972 new COVID-19 cases bringing the country’s total to 1,188, 672 cases.
RELATED STORY: WHO reveals around 115,000 heathcare workers died from COVID-19
Based on the latest DOH bulletin 48,201 are considered active or those people currently infected by the virus.
Recoveries, meanwhile, climbed to 1,120, 452 after recording 4,659 new patients who recovered from the disease.
The DOH said that COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila are declining but not fast enough.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said that the daily average of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila was 1,226.
Last week’s daily average was 1,500 cases.
READ ON: Gatchalian pushes for vaccination for general public this June
“While we are seeing that cases are going down, we are not out of the woods yet. The virus is still here and the threat that the downtrend will be reversed is still present,” Vergeire said.
“What we want is to go back to the presurge numbers. That is our target,” she added.
The DOH also appealed to stop mass gathering activities which can be superspreader events.
“It’s sad that after more than a year, there are a lot of superspreader events being reported. We have not yet developed herd immunity so we still need to follow minimum health standards. I know you are getting tired, but you’ve already waited more than one year, so why not wait for just a few more months? We are targeting to have 70 percent of us vaccinated by December,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
