MANILA, Philippines — The state health department on Saturday said that the total number of infected medical frontliners battling the novel coronavirus has reached 1,101.
In an online press briefing, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the sum comprises 434 physicians, 400 nurses, 55 nursing assistants, 32 medical technologists, and 21 radiologic technologists.
“Meron po tayong 1,101 na healthcare workers na naging positibo sa COVID-19. (We have 1,101 healthcare workers who tested positive for the virus),” she noted.
Meanwhile, the number of health workers who succumbed to the highly contagious ailment is still at 26, including 20 doctors and six nurses.
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.
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.