Philippines’ COVID-19 cases soar past 700 as UN warns ‘whole of humanity’ at risk from pandemic
MANILA, Philippines (Update, 5:15 p.m.) — The Philippines recorded another big increase in the number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday after health authorities reported 71 new infections.
This brought the national tally to 707 since Department of Health first detected an infection in late January.
Health Secretary said cases are expected to balloon in the coming day as the government ramps up its testing efforts. Five laboratories across the archipelago can now test COVID-19 samples.
Since late January, just over 2,100 test have been conducted in the Philippines.
The COVID-19 death toll also climbed to 45 after the DOH announced seven new fatalities.
Patient 321, 39th fatality
• 46-year-old male from Rizal with no travel and exposure history
• Passed away on March 23 due to acute respiratory disease secondary to community-acquired pneumonia, COVID-19
Patient 278, 40th fatality
• 72-year-old Filipino female from San Juan City with no travel and exposure history
• Passed away on March 25 due to septic shock, severe pneumonia, COVID-19
Patient 540, 41st fatality
• 50-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City with no travel history
• Passed away on March 20 but was only confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 24
• Died due to acute respiratory failure, community-acquired pneumonia high risk, COVID-19
Patient 636, 42nd fatality
• 56-year-old Filipino male from Pampanga with no travel and exposure history
• Expired on March 24 but was only confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 25
• Died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia, acute respiratory failure
Patient 600, 43rd fatality
• 87-year-old Filipino male from Sultan Kudarat with no travel history
• Expired on March 14 but was only confirmed to have COVID-19 on March 24
• Died due to acute respiratory failure secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on top of community acquired pneumonia, COVID-19
Patient 354, 44th fatality
• 80-year-old Filipino female from Rizal with unknown travel and exposure history
• Passed away on March 13 but was only confirmed to have COVID-19 on March 20
• Died due to acute coronary syndrome or congestive heart failure, severe acute respiratory infection
Patient 327, 45th fatality
• 46-year-old Filipino male from Laguna with no travel history
• Passed away on March 15, confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 21
• Died due to acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease
Meanwhile, there are now 28 patients who have been cleared of COVID-19. The two new recoveries are:
Patient 112, 27th recovery
• 41-year-old Filipino male from Makati City with travel history to Japan and with exposure to known COVID-19 cases
• Discharged on March 21 asymptomatic with one negative result
Patient 28, 28th recovery
• 69-year-old Filipino male from Marikina City with no travel history but with exposure to a known COVID-19 case
• Discharged on March 22 asymptomatic with one negative result
There are additional 722 patients under investigation and another 6,321 persons under monitoring.
‘Humanity must fight back’
The United Nations warned Thursday that unless the world come together to curb the spread of the virus, millions of people could die.
“COVID-19 is threatening the whole of humanity—and the whole of humanity must fight back," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
“Global action and solidarity are crucial. Individual country responses are not going to be enough,” he added.
The number of confirmed cases worldwide surpassed 450,000—20,000 of whom died.
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