By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) reported an additional 999 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 38,511.

404 are considered “late” cases or those whose results were released at least four days ago, while 595 are “fresh” cases or results released to the patient within the past three days.

Of the fresh cases, 175 are from the National Capital Region (NCR), 134 from Central Visayas, and 286 from other regions.

On the other hand, 131 of the late cases are from the NCR, 57 from Central Visayas, and 216 from other regions.

Four deaths were reported making the death toll now stand at 1270.

Health officials report testing laboratories have performed an average of over 14,500 tests per day in the past week.

According to DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, as of June 28, the laboratories have done a total of 708,534 tests, including 101,593 in the last seven days.

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The rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country are due to the increase in expanded testing and the increased mobility in different regions from eased quarantine restrictions, according to the DOH.

Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, Director of the DOH Health Promotion and Communication Service assured that the Philippine COVID-19 situation is not hopeless and could be mitigated through continued behavior change–social distancing and use of face masks.

DOH also reiterated its advice to avoid congested spaces with poor ventilation.