Coronavirus cases in the Philippines jump to 33
MANILA, Philippines (Update 2, 5:18 p.m.) — The Philippines on Tuesday recorded nine new cases of the novel coronavirus infections in the country, bringing the total to 33.
More than an hour before the press briefing, the Department of Health announced that the total number of infections in the Philippines stood at 35, after 11 additional cases were detected.
But Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire clarified that the 11 cases were actually the number of samples taken from coronavirus patients.
“Upon verification, two of the positive samples are repeat tests on samples taken from Patients 7 and 8,” Vergeire said.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night announced that the total count of confirmed cases was 24.
The new cases are admitted in the following hospitals:
• Patient 21 – Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium in Caloocan City
• Patient 22 – Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan
• Patient 23 – San Lazaro Hospital in Manila
• Patient 24 – St. Luke’s Medical Center Quezon City
• Patients 25 to 26 – New Clark City quarantine facility
• Patients 27 to 33 – The Medical City in Pasig
Vergeire said that of the 13 new cases, patients 21, 22, 23 and 24 are in stable condition, while patients 25 and 26 are asymptomatic. Patients 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 are “for verification,” the DOH official said.
Patients 25 and 26 were repatriated from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship in Japan that saw an outbreak of COVID-19.
'Alive but in guarded condition'
The Philippines has no new recorded fatality after the Chinese tourist who died on February 1—the first death outside mainland China.
Vergeire said the 62-year-old Filipino man and the 86-year-old American male are still alive but in “guarded condition.”
“Because of comorbidity, their conditions are slightly critical and they are being monitored in the referral hospitals,” she said in Filipino.
Comorbidity means having two chronic conditions or diseases at the same time.
Health authorities raised the alert system over COVID-19 to Code Red Sublevel 1 on Saturday after confirming the first case of local transmission in the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed Proclamation 922, declaring a state of public health emergency across the country. With the proclamation, all government agencies and local government units are ordered to cooperate and mobilize resources to combat the virus.
The virus has spread to over 100 countries and territories with more than 110,000 cases of infection. The global death toll reached 4,011 on Tuesday.
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