DOH conducts nearly 40k COVID-19 tests; over 85% negative

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has conducted nearly 40,000 tests for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of Tuesday, April 14, evening.

About 85% or 34,116 of the 39,947 tests turned out negative, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire announced on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, 5,782 of the tests resulted in positive for COVID-19.

Vergeire clarified that the number of positive tests may be higher to the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country because this is still being validated and some of the patients undergo repeat testing.

“Ang total positive tests ay mas maaaring mas mataas kaysa sa total confirmed cases dahil dmadaan pa rin ito sa case validation and processing at yun pong ating positive cases na admitted sa hospital ay maaaring nagkakaroon ng repeat tests,” she said in a virtual press briefing.

(The total positive tests could be higher than the number of total confirmed cases because this still undergoes case validation and processing and the positive cases in hospitals may have undergone repeat tests.)

To date, there are 5,453 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, with 353 recoveries and 349 deaths.

This is the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the country that the number of patients who have recovered from the disease has surpassed those who have died due to COVID-19.

The DOH also reported a record-high single-day increase of recoveries since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the country, with 58 recoveries.

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

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.