There are now 72,269 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Wednesday, July 22.

The single-day increase on Wednesday was again over a thousand, with 1,594 new infections tallied.

Of the new cases on Wednesday, most were still from Metro Manila with 971. Cebu had 252 new cases, Zamboanga del Sur 53, Negros Occidental 35 and Rizal province 26, and the rest spread across the country.

There were 6 deaths recorded Wednesday, bringing the total toll to 1,843. Of these fatalities, 2 were from Metro Manila, 2 were from Western Visayas, 1 was from Central Visayas and 1 was from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The 342 new recoveries on Wednesday raised the record to 23,623.

Nine out of 10 active cases (90.1%) were listed as mild. There were 46,803 active cases as of Wednesday.

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to present his coronavirus recovery plan during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27.

Opening of classes will push through on August 24, said Education Secretary Leonor Briones, but the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said face-to-face classes, even if limited, still pose a risk to the safety of students.

Meanwhile, the government continued to arrest quarantine violators, hundreds of them daily, leaving more than 3,000 still in jail.

The government has run out of jail space, putting Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facilities off-limits for now to curb the spread of coronavirus there.

Police stations will hold newly-arrested individuals meanwhile. – Rappler.com