Health officials on Sunday reported a record 40,397 COVID-19 recoveries Sunday, but only 914 of these were tested and found negative for the coronavirus.
The bulk of the recoveries, the Department of Health (DOH) said, were so-called time-based recoveries which tag a patient recovered if he or she is asymptomatic after 14 days without further testing.
The method, the DOH added, is recommended by the Philippine College of Physicians, and the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
Sunday's reported recoveries bring to 112,586 the number of COVID-19 patients who have recovered from the disease since the pandemic started.
The total number of infections rose to 161,253 after 3,420 new cases were reported Sunday, based on the findings of 99 of the 105 operational testing labs.
The DOH also reported 65 new deaths, bringing to 2,665 the total fatalities due to COVID-19.
The bulk of the newest cases still came from Metro Manila with 2,091 new infections, followed by Laguna with 263, Cavite with 149, Batangas with 137, and Rizal with 106.
Among the newly reported cases, 80 percent contracted COVID-19 within the last 14 days.
The DOH earlier said it would report the results of time-based recoveries every Sunday.
As a result of Sunday's large number of recoveries, the number of active cases fell to 46,002, down from Saturday's record high of 83,109.
Under the time-based approach, asymptomatic cases must complete 14 days of isolation starting on the
day their positive swab test result was released.
Mild to moderate cases must finish at least 14 days of isolation and must no longer manifest any COVID-19 symptoms for at least three days in order to be declared a recovery.
Similarly, severe to critical cases must complete a minimum of 21 days of isolation and must no longer have any symptoms for at least three days.
“The final assessment must always be done by a licensed physician so we are certain that the patient has clinically recovered,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Patients who are immunocompromised are not covered by the time-based or symptom-based strategy.
The DOH emphasized that the approach is backed by the World Health Organization and local medical groups such as the Philippine College of Physicians and Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
Vergeire said the number of recoveries is critical in measuring if interventions were working.
She also emphasized the importance of monitoring the number of recoveries in the country.
Oplan Recovery is characterized by enhanced data collection, validation, and reconciliation efforts between the DOH central and regional offices, and the local government units.
Since its implementation, Oplan Recovery reported 4,000 time-based recoveries as of July 13 and over 37,000 time-based recoveries on July 30.
The DOH also announced that starting Sunday, Aug 16, time-based recoveries will be published every Sunday.
At a virtual press briefing, Vergeire also said due to the large scale of community transmission being experienced, it is important to immediately self-isolate even before getting tested when experiencing flu like symptoms.
Vergeire also highlighted the importance of healthy coping mechanisms while in isolation, and emphasized that there is no need to get tested after observing the 14 day isolation period and after clinical assessment by a physician.
Vergeire also reminded the public to remain vigilant and regularly follow the minimum health standards.