MANILA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Monday 7,255 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,062,225.
The death toll climbed to 17,525 after 94 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.
The Philippines, which has an about 110-million population, has tested over 11 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.
The country has administered over 1.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine so far to frontline workers, the elderly, and people with underlying conditions, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online briefing on Monday.
The DOH said COVID-19 infections slowly decreased in recent weeks while the country continues to battle a surge of infections fuelled by more infectious variants and people's complacency to safety protocols.
The Philippines launched the vaccination drive on March 1, a day after China delivered the first batch of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year to achieve herd immunity. Enditem
