DOH: 803 people in PH now COVID-19 positive; death toll at 54

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 803 people in the county are now infected with COVID-19 as the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 93 new cases on Friday, the highest uptick in a single day so far.

DOH also announced the death of nine more COVID-19 positive persons, increasing the total of deaths to 54, as of 4 p.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, three infected individuals were able to recover from the highly-infectious disease bringing the number of COVID-19 recoveries in the country to 31.

One of the recovered patients is “PH4”, a 48-year-old Filipino male from Taguig City whose symptoms started on March 3 and confirmed positive for COVID-19 two days later. He was discharged from the hospital on March 19 as he was already asymptomatic. He also tested negative from the disease before being released from the hospital.

Another recovered patient is “PH66”, a 25-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City. He had no travel history but was exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual. His symptoms started on March 7 and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on March 13. The patient was discharged on Wednesday, March 25.

The third latest COVID-19 positive person who recovered was “PH42”. He is a 51-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City who was confirmed infected with COVID-19 on March 11. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, March 26.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, which outbreak started in China’s Wuhan City in Hubei province in late 2019.

People who have COVID-19 could recover since for most people, its symptoms were mild like fever and cough. But the illness could also be worse or serious for others and possibly lead to pneumonia, especially for older adults and those with existing health problems.

The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic since it already infected more than 532,700 people worldwide and killed more than 24,050 as of March 27. On the other hand, over 124,375 people have recovered so far from the disease.

KGA