Gamboa: Coronavirus cases in PNP rise to 96

MANILA, Philippines — Three more police officers were diagnosed with the coronavirus disease, bringing the total count of COVID-19 cases in the police force to 96, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said Thursday.

“The latest count as of today is that 96 PNP personnel were confirmed infected with coronavirus,” Gamboa said in an online press conference.

Meanwhile, the number of police personnel who survived the respiratory ailment is at 13 while the number of deaths due to the infectious illness remained at three.

On Wednesday, the police force’s Health Service recorded 93 cases of coronavirus disease after four police personnel were infected with the coronavirus disease.

Quarantine facility for PNP personnel

Gamboa said they will also unveil four mega quarantine facilities at the PNP Headquarters which will cater to police personnel who are suspected carriers of the coronavirus disease.

“To further expand the capability of the PNP for supportive healthcare, later today, we will formally unveil four mega Emergency Quarantine Facilities here in Camp Crame that was made possible mainly through the generosity of SM Foundation,” he said.

Each quarantine facility has a capacity of 120 beds to complement the “capacity of hospitals and medical institutions,” Gamboa said.

As of Wednesday, the PNP Health Service documented 367 police personnel who were considered as suspects while 207 PNP personnel were listed as probable.

The Philippine health department defined suspects as those with COVID-19 symptoms but was not yet tested for the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, which causes respiratory disease.

Meanwhile, Gamboa said the police force started operating the 294-bed quarantine facility at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay.

He said the PNP is also finishing its preparation to supervise the isolation facility at the Philsports Complex in Pasig which will cater to 156 COVID-19 patients.

Testing center for cops

On the COVID-19 testing center for PNP, Gamboa said four personnel from the Health Service and Crime Laboratory were undertaking training for reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

The testing center, which was established at the DNA laboratory, is expected to process 150 to 200 tests daily.