The Department of Health said Sunday 92 percent of those who had tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 have recovered.
In its latest bulletin, the department said the country logged 10,957 new recoveries, pushing the total number of recovered cases to 386,486.
It also reported 1,968 new confirmed cases and 43 new deaths.
Those figures brought the overall tally of active cases to 24,209 and the death toll to 8,123.
Test kit prices for release
The joint order covering guidelines on the price range to ensure that COVID-19 tests and kits are affordable and accessible is targeted to be released this week after consultations with stakeholders were conducted, the Department of Health said Saturday.
“We are already finalizing. Last week we had a consultation with the laboratories, with the manufacturers and industry and patient organizations,” Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa briefing.
“We had a final draft that only needs to be signed by [Trade] Secretary Mon Lopez and [Health] Secretary [Francisco] Duque.”
More workers test positive
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the total number of Filipinos abroad who tested positive for coronavirus disease rose to 11,559 after another Filipino tested positive for COVID-19.
But the department said the total recoveries and fatalities remained at 7,478 and 834, respectively, with no new reports.
There are now 3,247 patients still undergoing treatment.
“Compared to last week’s percentages, the total number of COVID-19 fatalities and those under treatment slightly decreased to 7.22 percent and 28.09 percent, respectively,” the department said in a statement.
Workers safely home
The government has sent home close to 320,000 returning Filipino workers, according to the latest data from the Department of Labor and Employment.
In a report to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said 319,333 workers were transported to their respective provinces as of Nov. 21 after they were cleared and tested negative for the coronavirus.
For the month alone, 38,516 workers were flown and bused to their destinations, the report said.
OWWA took care of their hotel accommodation and food while waiting for the result of their COVID tests taken upon their arrival in Manila. It also facilitated their transport back to their provinces as soon as they were cleared of COVID-19.
Testing lab opened
The Philippine Red Cross has opened a COVID-19 testing laboratory in Isabela that will serve the entire Cagayan Valley, PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said Sunday.
He said the laboratory could process up to 2,000 tests daily. It cost P30 million and was built in a month.
“It’s important that we get paid because we reinvest our earnings,” Gordon told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.
As of Nov. 5, state insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has paid P700 million to the non-government organization, but has yet to settle some P377 million for its COVID-19 testing services.