Some 13,603 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, according to a Thursday morning update by the Health Ministry, with a positive return rate of 19.08% for the 71,291 tests taken throughout the day.
Some 301 COVID patients are still in serious condition as of Wednesday, 130 of whom are intubated and another 21 connected to ECMO machines.
The death toll since the start of the pandemic stands at 10,455.
The R (reproduction) rate continued to climb and is at 1.42.