MANILA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 265,888 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,699 new daily cases on Monday.

The DOH said that 259 more patients died, bringing the death toll to 4,630. Monday's number of new deaths is the highest daily one in the Philippines since the pandemic outbreak.

The DOH said that the number of recoveries also rose to 207,504 after 249 more patients recovered.

The Philippines' capital Metro Manila topped the regions or provinces with the highest number of daily confirmed cases with 1,498.

According to the government, the country's 122 COVID-19 laboratories have tested over 2.9 million people so far.