MANILA, Philippines — The number of patients in the country who have been, or are currently being monitored for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rose from 408 Wednesday noon to 441, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Thursday.
Information from the tracker of the DOH as of Thursday morning showed that of the 441 individuals, 230 are still admitted in hospitals while 206 have been discharged after testing negative for the virus in two consecutive medical examinations.
The three individuals who earlier tested positive for the virus were likewise counted in the tally – the 44-year-old Chinese man who died on Feb. 1, his partner, a 38-year-old Chinese woman who was already discharged on Saturday, and the 60-year-old Chinese woman who had already returned to China.
Two others, one who tested positive for HIV but negative for the virus and died of pneumonia, and another who had lung disease and also died of pneumonia and not of the virus are likewise included in the figure.
The virus has so far killed 1,355 people and infected over 60,000 worldwide, with most cases recorded in mainland China.
Two of the deaths were recorded in Hong Kong and in the Philippines.
A total of 242 new deaths from China’s Hubei province were announced on Thursday morning, which is twice as many as on the previous day.
New cases of infection in the province increased by more than 14,000.