The Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,965 new cases on Tuesday, August 25, bringing total confirmed cases in the country to 197,164.

Of the total cases, 61,730 are active.

The country’s COVID-19 death toll rose to 3,038 after 34 new fatalities. The DOH also reported 368 new recoveries, bringing the total number of those who beat the disease to 132,396.

The latest DOH data showed that 1,575 or 53% of the 2,965 new cases were from Metro Manila. The rise in cases continues to strain hospitals in the capital region, where critical care capacity was at 67% – or at the “danger zone” – as of August 24.

The DOH said that 53 duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 13 recovered cases were erased. At least 5 cases previously reported as deaths turned out to be recoveries, and one case previously tallied as recovered was updated as a death after final validation.

The DOH noted that COVID-19 figures undergo “constant cleaning and validation.”

The Philippines still has the most number of coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia, followed by Indonesia.

President Rodrigo Duterte reverted Mega Manila to general community quarantine (GCQ) from August 19 to August 31. But experts studying the pandemic in the Philippines earlier warned cases nationwide could reach 230,000 by August 31 if Mega Manila is placed under GCQ.

In a virtual address on Monday night, Vice President Leni Robredo said Filipinos are losing their “confidence” in President Rodrigo Duterte’s government as it scrambles to save the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. (READ: Robredo: Filipinos losing ‘confidence’ in gov’t amid coronavirus crisis)

Duterte, meanwhile, ordered government agencies to make public the details of how they are spending funds allocated for responding to the coronavirus pandemic. (READ: Duterte vows transparency in spending of COVID-19 funds) – Rappler.com