Philippines logs 10,726 new COVID-19 cases, total nears 915,000

Manila [Philippines], April 16 (ANI/Xinhua): The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Friday 10,726 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 914,971.
The death toll climbed to 15,738 after 145 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.
The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 10 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online briefing that the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines remains "critical" despite the reimposition of strict lockdown measures to restrict mobility.
The Philippines placed Metro Manila and its four adjacent provinces, home to about 28 million people, under strict lockdown since March 29 due to rising clusters of infections and hospitalization rate. The lockdown measures stay until April 30.
"In the coming weeks, we will begin to see the effects of (the lockdown measures) in quelling the rising number of COVID-19 cases we have witnessed recently," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a recorded statement.
The government's "most pressing concern is the countless reports of overflowing hospitals amid the surging cases," Duque said, stressing that the government would start using modular facilities in select hospitals and the reactivated temporary treatment facilities to accommodate more patients with mild or no symptoms.
Duque urged the Filipinos to help curb the infections by adhering to health protocols to reduce transmission and contact rates. (ANI/Xinhua)