Philippines records 696 new COVID-19 cases; active tally climbs to 12,491

The Philippines on Friday monitored an increase in daily COVID-19 tally with 696 new cases, while the active tally climbed to 12,491.

This came after five days straight of fewer than 500 COVID-19 cases logged daily, while the active tally also increased from 12,006 on Thursday.

The DOH said the new infections increased the nationwide caseload to 4,069,734.

In the past two weeks, the National Capital Region (NCR) remained the top region with the most infections with 1,984.

It was followed by Calabarzon with 998, Central Luzon with 491, Cagayan Valley with 383, and Western Visayas with 339.

Meanwhile, at least 75 more patients recovered as the recovery tally increased to 3,991,690.

The country’s death toll also increased to 65,553 with 27 new fatalities, according to the DOH.

The latest data also showed at least 5,327 beds were occupied, while 21,615 were vacant as the bed occupancy in the country stood at 19.8% as of Wednesday, January 11.

Meanwhile, a total of 11,504 individuals were tested, while 334 testing labs submitted data as of Thursday, January 12. —NB, GMA Integrated News