Philippines' COVID-19 cases up to 462, death toll at 33

The Department of Health (DOH) marked the biggest single-day increase in the number of COVID-19 cases on Monday after it confirmed 82 new cases, bringing the total number of infections in the Philippines to 462 in under a month.

The number of deaths rose to 33 after eight new fatalities were recorded. The number of recoveries climbed to 18 after one more patient was considered cured of the disease.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire has explained that the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases in the country was due to the increased testing capacity of laboratories.

The Philippines conducts between 950 to 1,000 COVID-19 tests per day, according to the DOH.

Eight new deaths

The eight latest fatalities, all Filipinos with pre-existing medical conditions prior to contracting COVID-19, were Patients 281, 266, 279, 304, 328, 333, 367, and 349.

Patient 281 was a 57-year old male from Mandaluyong City with no travel history who died on March 19 of septic shock, severe pneumonia, and COVID-19. He also had acute kidney injury secondary to pre-renal azotemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.

Patient 266 was a 71-year old male from Quezon City with no history of travel or exposure to a known COVID-19 case. He died on March 20, the same day he tested positive for the disease.

His cause of death was septic shock, community-acquired high-risk pneumonia, and COVID-19. He also had acute kidney injury secondary to pre-renal azotemia, cardiomyopathy secondary to ischemic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus.

Patient 279 was a 73-year old male from San Juan City with no travel history. He died on March 16 but his COVID-19 test results only came back positive four days later.

He died of septic shock and community-acquired high-risk pneumonia but also had chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and ischemic heart disease.

Patient 304 was an 89-year old male from Bulacan who had a history of exposure to a known COVID-19 case. He died on March 20 but his COVID-19 test results only came back positive the next day.

He died of myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and multiple electrolyte imbalance but also had acute kidney injury and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Patient 328 was a 74-year old male from Quezon City with no travel history. He died on March 13 but only tested positive for COVID-19 on March 21.

He died of acute respiratory failure secondary to community-acquired pneumonia. He also had hypertension and kidney disease.

Patient 333 was a 65-year old male from Quezon City with no travel history who died on March 21, the same day he tested positive for COVID-19.

He died of acute respiratory distress syndrome, COVID-19, and pneumonia, but also had hypertension and kidney disease.

Patient 367 was a 78-year old Filipino male from Parañaque City who died on March 22 of acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, community-acquired high-risk pneumonia, and COVID-19. He also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Patient 349 was a diabetic and hypertensive 56-year old male from Parañaque City with no history of travel or exposure to a confirmed case. He died on March 17 but his COVID-19 results only came back positive on March 21.

He died of acute respiratory failure, secondary to acute respiratory distress syndrome, secondary to acute viral pneumonia.

New recovery

The latest patient to recover from COVID-19 is Patient 73, a hypertensive 54-year old Filipino male from Manila with a history of travel to Thailand and exposure to a known COVID-19 case.

He was asymptomatic when he was discharged on March 21 after testing negative for COVID-19 once.

PUIs, PUMs

The online COVID-19 tracker of the DOH shows that they have so far conducted 1,622 tests.

Meanwhile, there are currently 606 patients under investigation (PUI) and 6,321 patients under monitoring.

Vergeire said 662 PUIs have already been discharged since January after testing negative for COVID-19. — NB/RSJ, GMA News