MANILA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines on Friday reported 120 new coronavirus infections, pushing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 10,463.
The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) also reported 116 new recoveries from the disease, bringing the total number of patients who survived the disease to 1,734.
On the other hand, the DOH said 11 new deaths have been tallied, bringing the country's death toll to 696.
Vince Dizon, the deputy chief implementer of the Philippine government's response to combat COVID-19, said in a televised briefing on Friday that the Philippines can now conduct 12,000 coronavirus tests daily as the government speed up testing to identify and isolate those who contracted the virus.
The Philippines has set up four swabbing centers around Metro Manila. There are 23 laboratory testing centers across the country. The government aims to conduct 5,000 tests per day in all four "mega" swabbing centers, or a total of 30,000 tests per day by the end of May.
"In the next days, we are full speed ahead with our testing efforts," Dizon said.
The DOH said it has conducted nearly 145,000 tests since the outbreak. Enditem
