Philippines flattened coronavirus curve in April, health chief says
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The Philippines currently has 57,545 infections.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
MANILA (BLOOMBERG) - The Philippines has flattened its Covid-19 infection curve since April, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said, even as the number of cases continues to rise.
It now takes eight to 12 days for the cases to double, from only 2.5 days during the initial stages of the outbreak, while the doubling time for the number of deaths has also fallen to a "moderate risk", Mr Duque said in a virtual forum on Wednesday (July 15).
The South-east Asian nation had 57,545 infections as of Tuesday, the second-highest in the region and jumping almost 580 per cent since 8,488 Covid-19 cases in end-April, when large parts of the Philippines were under a stringent lockdown. In that same period, the number of deaths also nearly tripled from 568 to 1,603.
In May, Mr Duque said the country was already experiencing its second wave of coronavirus infections, prompting a correction from the Department of Health.
