PH’s 5th coronavirus case in ‘critical condition’

MANILA, Philippines — The 62-year-old man, who is the fifth case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines, is in “critical condition,” the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

In a press conference, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) head Dr. Celia Carlos said the patient is in a “guarded condition” because he still suffers from severe pneumonia.

Aside from suffering from hypertension and diabetes mellitus, the patient is also suffering from acute kidney injury, Carlos said.

“On the other hand, his oxygen requirement is less, and the need for drugs to elevate his blood pressure is also less,” the RITM head added.

“So there are good developments, as well as bad developments.”

Asked to clarify if “guarded condition” is different from “critical condition,” Health chief Francisco Duque III said : “No, that’s critical condition.”

“Let’s be reminded that based on the experience, the clinical conditions of severe cases as reported in China, it takes [a] very long time for them to recover from three to six weeks, when critical,” Duque said.

Meanwhile, the 48-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman—who is the wife of an infected 62-year-old man—are only having “mild respiratory symptoms.”  

The 62-year-old patient was said to be a frequent visitor of a Muslim prayer hall in Barangay Greenhills, San Juan City.  Mayor Francis Zamora previously ordered the sanitation and temporary closure of the prayer room. 

Edited by MUF