Philippines' Covid-19 tally climbs over 953,000; 7,379 fresh cases reported

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 10.5 million people since the outbreak started in January 2020.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 953,106 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 7,379 new cases on Tuesday.

Local officials wearing face masks and face shields as protection against Covid stand near a community quarantine checkpoint in a village under local lockdown, in Pasay, Philippines, (Reuters file photo)

The DOH said 93 more patients have succumbed to the viral disease, bringing the death toll to 16,141.

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 10.5 million people since the outbreak started in January 2020.

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the emergency authorization to use Covid-19 vaccines made by Johnson & Johnson and India's Bharat Biotech, FDA Director General Enrique Domingo confirmed on Tuesday.

The FDA has granted emergency use authorization to coronavirus vaccines of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, China's Sinovac and Russia's Sputnik V.