MANILA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has risen to 462, the country's Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday.

The DOH said in a report that 33 people have died from the highly infectious disease while 18 have recovered.

The eight new deaths include seven patients from Metro Manila and one from Bulacan, a province just outside of the Philippine capital, the DOH added.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said three doctors have succumbed to the virus while a number of them are in critical condition at hospitals in Metro Manila.

Panelo appealed for prayers for the health front-liners who daily put their lives on the line as they treat those who contracted the virus.

"Three of our doctors have died and a number of them are in critical condition due to the coronavirus," Panelo said in a statement, adding that an increasing number of Filipinos are succumbing to the deadly disease.

"We must all take care of ourselves because in doing so we take care of others," Panelo added.

A number of international organizations and governments, including China, has donated COVID-19 test kits to the Philippines.

The Philippines expressed hope that with the arrival of 100,000 testing kits and accreditation of additional sub-national laboratories and dedicated COVID-19 referral hospitals, more cases will be detected and appropriately managed.

The country's Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the COVID-19 situation is still "containable". However, he stressed the need to ramp up the testing to isolate those who are infected.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the entire Philippines under a state of public health emergency and imposed a 30-day enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon island in a bid to keep people in their homes and prevent the rapid spread of the highly infectious virus.

The lockdown runs until April 12.

Other provinces in central and southern Philippines have also announced their own local quarantine arrangements.