COVID case tally up 8,000

The health department on Friday reported over 8,000 new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In a statement released on Friday, the Department of Health (DoH) said that as of April 30, it recorded 8,748 new cases of the virus. This brings the total number of positive cases in the country since the pandemic began to 1,037,460.

The DoH said of the total number, 73,908 are active cases. Over 95% of the active cases are categorized as mild while 1.7% were asymptomatic. The DoH said that 1.3% of the active cases were severe, 1% were critical, and 0.87% were moderate.

The DoH also added 89 deaths to its tally, bringing the total death count since the pandemic started to 17,234.

The number of new recoveries is 4,143, bringing the total number of recoveries since the pandemic started to 946,318. 

In terms of healthcare capacity in the country, the DoH reported that 64% of ICU beds are being utilized while 51% ward beds were occupied and 42% of isolation beds were being used. 

The DoH data showed that 71% of ICU beds in Metro Manila are being used as are 62% of ward beds and 51% of isolation beds; 55% of ventilators in the region are also in use.