Philippines logs 6, 637 new Covid-19 cases, 1, 339, 457 in total

Caption A woman reacts as she is inoculated with Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at a sporting arena converted into a temporary vaccination center in San Juan, Philippines on June 17, 2021. - AP

MANILA (Xinhua): The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday (June 17) 6,637 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the total tally to 1,339,457.

The death toll rose to 23,276 with 155 more deaths recorded from the coronavirus epidemic, the DOH said.

The Philippines, which has more than 110 million population, has tested more than 13 million people since the Covid-19 outbreak in January 2020 in the country.

On Thursday, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran stressed the need to manage the health risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic effectively and efficiently to curb the virus' transmission.

Otherwise, the government will be forced to transit from a risk management stance to a risk avoidance posture and make the difficult and painful decision of re-imposing much stricter quarantine measures, he warned.