Philippines logs 5,204 new COVID-19 cases, death toll tops 26,000

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Monday 5,204 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,478,061.

The death toll climbed to 26,015 after 100 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

The Philippines, which has a population of around 110 million, has tested more than 14.5 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.

The Philippines has administered more than 13.2 million vaccine doses since the rollout on March 1, the DOH said.

The health agency said more than 3.5 million people have been fully vaccinated. The government aims to fully vaccinate up to 70 million people within the year, depending on the vaccines supply.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has "plateaued," but the situation is still "very fragile."

"We are in the race against these variants. Our cooperation will help slow down the infections and the entry of the highly infectious variants to protect the population," Vergeire said in an online briefing.

Carlito Galvez, chief implementer of the government's measures to combat COVID-19, said the Philippines has received more than 20.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers so far.

An independent survey conducted on June 7 to 16 by Pulse Asia Inc. released on Monday said that "a big plurality of Filipino adults are inclined to get vaccinated against COVID-19, significantly higher than the February 2021 figure."

The survey results showed that 46 percent of the 2,400 Filipinos aged 18 and above surveyed are inclined to get inoculated compared to 16 percent in February this year.

However, the survey also showed that 36 percent of the respondents are not inclined to get the COVID-19 vaccine. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )