A total of 6,879 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients in Eastern Visayas have recovered from the illness, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

The number represents 90.11 percent of the region’s 7,634 confirmed cases since March, DOH Eastern Visayas assistant regional director Carmen Garado said in a virtual press briefing.

“Almost 99 percent of our patients are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and the rest are severe or critical cases,” she said.

The health department also reported that 72 or 94 percent of infected patients in the region have died of complications.

Garado said the majority of these patients are senior citizens and persons with other illnesses such as chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes, among others.

To date, the region has 683 active cases, with the addition of 141 new infections from 1,607 test results released on Wednesday night.

Of the new cases, 50 are from Northern Samar, 39 in Leyte, 26 in Samar, 19 in Eastern Samar, six in Tacloban, the regional capital, and one in Southern Leyte.

Roderick Boyd Cerro, DOH regional epidemiology and surveillance unit head, said the region recorded an increase in cases for the past week due to enhanced testing, particularly in Samar provinces.

“There are ongoing localized transmission in some areas because of some lapses of health facilities in infection prevention control, but we have already addressed these issues,” he added.

Meanwhile, six towns in the region remain coronavirus-free with no single case recorded since the start of the global health crisis.

These are the towns of Biri and San Vicente in Northern Samar, Talalora and Tagapul-an in Samar, Jipapad in Eastern Samar, and Hinundayan in Southern Leyte. (PNA)