MANILA, Philippines — A 56-year-old male is the eighth confirmed case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) recorded in San Juan City, the city government said Thursday.
“As of 6 p.m. of March 11, 2020, the Department of Health confirmed one new case of COVID-19 in San Juan City, bringing the total confirmed cases in the city to eight,” the city government said in a statement.
The city government said the patient, a resident of Brgy. Greenhills, exhibited cough and colds which prompted him to go to a private hospital to get tested for the disease. He was placed under home quarantine pending the release of the result of the throat swab.
On Wednesday night, the patient was transferred to a tertiary hospital in Metro Manila and is currently in stable condition.
“Mayor Francis Zamora reminds the residents of San Juan City to always wash their hands with soap and water or with alcohol with a 70% solution, avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth and to regularly disinfect their surroundings,” the statement read.
To date, there are 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, with two deaths.
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Several government offices were closed down to make way for disinfection against the virus, while some public officials opted to undergo self-quarantine due to possible exposure with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Classes in all levels in Metro Manila have also been suspended starting March 10 until March 14.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier raised Code Red Sublevel 1 after it confirmed the country’s first local transmission of the disease, while President Rodrigo Duterte earlier declared a state of public health emergency.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, which surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.