MANILA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 331,869 after the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,363 new daily infections on Thursday.
The DOH said the number of recoveries also rose to 274,318 after 697 more patients recovered. Meanwhile, 144 more patients died from the viral disease, bringing the death toll to 6,069.
The Philippines' capital Metro Manila topped the regions in the country with the highest number of 858 daily cases on Thursday.
The DOH said over 3.76 million people have been tested so far in the country with a population of about 109 million.
A team of experts from the University of the Philippines said the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines was on a downward trend compared to the almost 4,000 new cases per day during the last week of August
"The number of cases in the Philippines has been decreasing, and currently at less around 2,500 new cases per day (based on case reports)," the research team said in a report dated on Tuesday.
The report said the findings were based on the daily reports of COVID-19 cases in the country from Aug. 25 to Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, a national survey released by Pulse Asia Inc. on Thursday said 92 percent of Filipinos believe that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte "has done well in terms of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 in the country."
Pulse Asia Inc. conducted the national survey on 1,200 Filipinos aged 18 and above from Sept. 14 to 20.
"Approval is the prevailing opinion among Filipinos toward the efforts of the national administration and Duterte to deal with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic," the report read.
The survey also showed that "about eight out of every 10 Filipinos (84 percent) have a positive opinion about the work done by the Duterte administration to control the spread of COVID-19 and assist those who lost their livelihood or job due to the pandemic." Enditem
