SMART DRONE IN VIRUS FIGHT The Pasig City government has purchased three smart drones—one of them shown here—designed to spray disinfectant over large areas in one pass. They will be used in “every street, big or small’’ as part of the battle to contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to Mayor Vico Sotto. —RICHARD A. REYES
The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday reported 15 new coronavirus infections, bringing the Philippines’ total to 217 with 17 deaths.
The DOH also said one patient had recovered, inceasing the tally to eight.
Patient 20, a 48-year-old male from Cavite province, was discharged from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) after testing negative for the coronavirus twice, the DOH said in a statement.
It said the patient, who was admitted to the RITM on March 7, had traveled to Japan, which has more than 1,500 coronavirus infections.
Info error corrected
The DOH also said Patient 57, the country’s 16th coronavirus fatality, who was a 65-year-old male, was a resident of Bulacan province and not Pasig City as reported on Wednesday.
“While the case investigation form of the patient stated that he lived in Pasig City, upon further validation, it was found that it is a family member of his who lives there,” the DOH said.
In Singapore, the number of Filipinos who have contracted the coronavirus has risen to 11, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday.
The Philippine Embassy obtained the information from the city-state’s Ministry of Health, the DFA said.
One recovers
Quoting the information, the DFA said the 11th Filipino national to test positive for the coronavirus was confirmed to have been infected on Tuesday and was currently in isolation at a hospital.
On Saturday, the DFA said a Filipino worker in Singapore had recovered and was discharged from a hospital, bringing down the number of infected Filipinos in the city-state to nine.
The DFA said the Philippine Embassy was working closely with the Singaporean Ministry of Health and was ready to extend assistance to the ailing Filipinos there.
As of Thursday, the new coronavirus that emerged in China late last year had killed around 8,900 people and sickened more than 218,000 others in 172 countries and territories. —WITH A REPORT FROM GABRIEL PABICO LALU