For the first time since September 22, the Philippines logged less than 2,000 coronavirus cases per day on Tuesday, October 13.

This, after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,990 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country to 344,713.

The new daily figure, however, was only based on 128 laboratories out of 145 licensed testing hubs.

The last time the daily record of new cases was below 2,000 was on September 22, when 1,635 cases were reported. At the time, 121 out of 130 laboratories submitted their reports.

The DOH reported 40 new deaths due to the coronavirus disease, bringing the death toll to 6,372, while the recoveries are up by 327, raising total recoveries to 293,383.

The latest DOH data showed that 580, or 29% of the new reported cases, were from Metro Manila.

Of the total confirmed cases, 44,958 are active.

The DOH also said 93 duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 85 were recovered cases.

At least 11 cases previously reported as recovered cases turned out to be deaths. The DOH noted that COVID-19 figures undergo “constant cleaning and validation.”

In its latest report published on Monday, October 12, the Octa Research Group saw an “uptick” of COVID-19 cases in some provincial hotspots, prompting them to urge the government “to carefully study together” with health sector experts the reopening of the economy. (READ: Experts note ‘uptick’ in COVID-19 cases in provincial virus hotspots)

The researchers noted the decreasing trend of COVID-19 cases in the country, adding the country was able to keep the coronavirus reproduction number – the number of people that one positive case can infect – to below 1. The reproduction number in the Philippines is now at 0.87.

Authorities leading the Philippines’ coronavirus response said the country has entered “Phase 3” of the government’s plan to address the coronavirus pandemic in October, a phase that would involve allowing more businesses to operate and more people to leave their homes while abiding by health protocols.

As of Monday, the Philippines still has the highest number of COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia, despite having the longest lockdowns in the world. Globally, the country ranked 18th. – Rappler.com