Facade of the DOH main office in Manila. Photo by Consuelo Marquez / INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The number of individuals who tested positive for the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country has reached 217, with 15 new cases recorded as of Thursday afternoon.
One confirmed case was also reported to have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recovered patients to eight, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
The recovered patient (PH20) is a Filipino male from Cavite who was admitted to the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) last March 7.
He was known to have a travel history to Japan, which is a COVID-19-affected country. He tested negative twice for the virus before he was discharged from the hospital.
The number of deaths remained at 17.
The whole island of Luzon remains under “enhanced community quarantine” as a government effort to curb the spread of the virus in the country.
Mass public transportation is still suspended but several local governments in Metro Manila have taken initiatives to provide transportation and shelter to frontliners and health care providers.
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The quarantine is expected to last until April 13.
President Rodrigo Duterte has also placed the entire country under a state of calamity, allowing local government units to access their quick response funds.
The World Health Organization declared the disease as a global pandemic after it killed nearly 5,000 people and infected 110,000 others worldwide.
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.