MANILA – The casualty count of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country continues to pile up as the number of confirmed cases also keeps on increasing, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III announced at a virtual press briefing on Thursday afternoon they have recorded seven more COVID-19 casualties, bringing the total count to 45.
On Thursday morning, another COVID-19 frontliner has lost her battle to the deadly disease following the passing of Philippine Pediatric Society president Dr. Sally Gatchalian.
Gatchalian’s sister, TV host actress Ruby Rodriguez, confirmed the news on Thursday morning. The fallen doctor, the ninth frontliner to succumb to the virus, also serves as assistant director at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Actor Menggie Cobarrubias also died due to COVID-19 symptoms but has yet to be known if he is positive, while former University of Santo Tomas head coach Januario “Aric” del Rosario also showed symptoms of virus before dying due to cardiac arrest.
Duque added that the “artificial rise” of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues as it climbed to 707 on Thursday. There were also two recovered patients bringing the total count to 28.
“Confirmed cases are bound to increase as the government expands its testing efforts,” Duque said. “Also there are now five government laboratories which can test COVID-19 samples.”
Worldwide, COVID-19 has killed more than 21,300 people, mostly in Italy, although the outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December last year. Over 472,000 people have been infected, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 global tracker.
To prevent the spread of the virus, authorities are urging people to practice regular hand washing, cover their mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and avoid close contact with those who exhibit virus symptoms./PN
