Philippines: Covid-19 cases now nearing 300,000-mark; highest in South-East Asia

A man wearing a protective mask to curb the spread of the coronavirus buys food from a makeshift stall in Quezon city, Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte says he has extended a state of calamity in the entire Philippines by a year to allow the government to draw emergency funds faster to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and harness the police and military to maintain law and order. - AP

MANILA, Sept 25 (Xinhua): The number of confirmed Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases in the Philippines surged to 299,361 after the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,630 new cases on Friday.

The DOH said that the number of recoveries also rose to 232,399 after 494 more patients have recovered. Meanwhile, 69 more patients have died from the viral disease, bringing the death toll to 5,196.