Sixteen new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases were confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH) Wednesday, raising the Philippine total to 49.

In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Assistant Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said: '' The DOH and deployed surveillance teams are now conducting extensive information-gathering and contact tracing activities on the new cases."

The DOH has yet to provide profiles of the 16 new cases.

Vergeire said the number of critical cases has risen to three.

The other two critical patients are a 62-year-old Filipino male at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and an 86-year-old American male at the Medical City.

''DOH is continuously monitoring the status of all patients to ensure that no complications arise throughout their recovery," said Vergeire. DMS