The Philippines recorded additional 102 deaths due to coronavirus disease, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Sunday.

With the latest figure, the death toll in the country rose to 3,520, with most of them or 52 came from the National Capital Region (NCR).

There were 14 deaths in Calabarzon, 10 in Western Visayas, nine in Central Luzon, eight in Central Visayas, two each in Cagayan Valley, Bicol Region, and Davao Region, and one in Caraga. Two deaths were unknown.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country increased to 217,396 after 4,284 new cases were confirmed by 100 out of 110 laboratories.

“Of the 4,284 reported cases today, 3,779 or 88 percent occurred within the recent 14 days, from August 17 to August 30,” the Health department said.

Majority of the new cases came from NCR with 2,207 followed by Laguna with 327, Cavite with 191, Batangas with 161, and Rizal with 147.

The DOH reported 22,319 new recoveries bringing the total to 157,403.

Earlier, the DOH said the high number of recoveries was due to its "Oplan Recovery," a program that monitors the status of confirmed COVID-19 cases with mild symptoms and are asymptomatic.

It uses the time-based recovery system, wherein those who have completed the 14-day isolation period and are cleared by a clinical assessment by a physician are tagged as having recovered despite not undergoing repeat RT-PCR testing.

Based on the World Health Organization’s record, as of August 29, there were 24,587,513 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 833,556 deaths, globally. Ella Dionisio/DMS