THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) reported 1,345 coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 541,560.

The death toll rose to 11,401 after 114 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 276 to 499,971, it said in a bulletin.

There were 30,188 active cases, 88.2% of which were mild, 6.1% did not show symptoms, 2.6% were critical, 2.5% were severe and 0.6% were moderate.

DoH said 12 duplicates had been removed from the tally. Nine deaths were reclassified as recoveries, while 59 recovered cases were reclassified as deaths, it said.

Four laboratories failed to submit their data on Feb. 9, the agency said. More than 7.7 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of Feb. 8, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened about 107.4 million and killed almost 2.4 million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

About 79.4 million people have recovered, it said.

Meanwhile, the government is studying a proposal to include national athletes among those who will be first to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire said.

“This will be considered because it’s a request and it’s something that the National Government would like to pursue when it comes to sports,” she told an online news briefing.

Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go on Monday said he had asked vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. to consider prioritizing national athletes who would be competing in the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.

Ms. Vergeire said the government would also study whether the state’s vaccination drive could include foreigners living in the Philippines. “If ever, they might be under the rest of the population,” she said.

Presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque, Jr. last week said health workers would be the first to get vaccinated, followed by senior citizens, persons with underlying illnesses, frontline personnel in essential sectors and indigent groups.

Also listed are teachers, social workers, government workers, other essential workers, socio-demographic groups at significantly higher risk other than senior citizens and migrant Filipino workers.

The Philippines may start inoculating Filipinos against the coronavirus next week as it takes delivery of vaccine orders, Mr. Roque said.

The government expects to vaccinate as many as 70 million citizens against the coronavirus by yearend, vaccine czar Carlito A. Galvez, Jr. said on Sunday.

The country will get about 10 million doses of vaccines under a global initiative for equal access this quarter, including 117,000 doses from Pfizer, Inc. that might arrive this month, he said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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