Basilio Sepe/BenarNews
The Philippines on Monday surpassed the 1 million mark in coronavirus cases recorded since the pandemic began in March 2020, as the Southeast Asian country and others in the region struggle to contain surging waves in the global outbreak.
The Philippine health department said it had recorded 8,929 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours that took the country past the grim milestone. The department also logged 70 virus-related deaths, bringing the total to 16,853.
The surge “has placed hospitals under siege,” the Philippine Red Cross said, noting it was “urgently setting up field hospitals, quarantine facilities and scaling up existing testing laboratories.”