THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday clarified that technical issues in the extraction of updated data from the COVID system led to relatively low total of new cases reported last Wednesday.

In a statement, the DOH advised the public to expect higher numbers in the next few days, adding that the technical issue is currently being resolved with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

The DOH, on Wednesday, reported 12,751 new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the nationwide tally to 2,134,005, as five laboratories failed to submit data on time.

The country’s active tally stands at 151,135.

Of this, 91.6% are mild, 3.7% are asymptomatic, 1.5% are severe, and 0.7% are in critical condition.

The DOH also announced that total recoveries climbed to 1,948,198 after 20,151 more patients recovered from the illness.

Meanwhile, 174 new fatalities brought the death toll to 34,672.

A total of 54 duplicate cases were also removed from the total case count.

Based on reports on Sept. 6, the Philippines was able to test 57,260 individuals, of which 28.1% tested positive for the illness.

Meanwhile, data from the DOH showed that around 76% of the intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients nationwide remain occupied, marking them at high risk.

Based on its Sept. 8 COVID case bulletin, 76% of the 4,100 ICU beds in the country are in use while 74% of the 1,400 ICU beds in Metro Manila are occupied.

High risk means the occupancy rate is between 70% and 85%.

Data also showed that around 72% of the 15,500 ward beds nationwide are being utilized while 72% of the 4,300 ward beds in Metro Manila are in use.

Meanwhile, 56% of the country’s 3,200 mechanical ventilators are in use while 63% of the 1,100 mechanical ventilators in Metro Manila are occupied.