PH’s COVID-19 death toll rises to 5

The Department of Health reported on Thursday night that a couple that frequently worshipped at a Muslim prayer hall in Greenhills, San Juan City, and an 88-year-old woman had died, raising the death toll from the new coronovirus in the country to five.

The couple, a 62-year-old diabetic, and his 59-year-old wife, were first admitted at Cardinal Santos Medical Center and were later transferred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Respiratory distress

The 59-year-old Filipino woman, who was diabetic, suddenly experienced difficulty of breathing and was intubated on Wednesday night. She died later that night from acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe pneumonia caused by COVID-19. A repeat chest x-ray showed she had progressive pneumonia.

Her husband died on Thursday morning due to acute respiratory distress syndrome from severe pneumonia secondary to COVID-19. The man, who was also hypertensive, had developed acute kidney injury.

The 88-year-old woman, who had hypertension, was admitted on March 6 at the Philippine Heart Center after experiencing the onset of COVID-19 symptoms on Feb. 28. She was confirmed with COVID-19 on March 11 and died a day later of acute respiratory failure.