COVID-19 patients rise to 3,246 as government mulls quarantine extension
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday recorded 152 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease, bringing the total number of patients to 3,246.
There have been 152 deaths and 64 total recoveries so far, putting the number of active cases at 3030.
The Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, the body governing the country’s response to the global pandemic, has said that it was mulling the idea of extending the enhanced community quarantine hoisted over Luzon, but that no final decision had been reached yet.
Cabinet Secretary and IATF spokesperson Karlo Nograles in an online media briefing on Saturday said that the following parameters had been adopted by the task force in deciding on the potential lifting or extending of the quarantine:
- Trends in the virus’ epidemiological curve including doubling time, acceleration or deceleration of new cases
- Capacity of the health system, including the number and availability of quarantine, isolation and treatment facilities, the capability to mount contact tracing, the availability of PPEs for frontliners, and the testing capacity of the country
- Social factors
- Economic factors
- Security factors
Increases in the national total of the virus' carriers as of late have been linked to the arrival of newly-donated testing kits and the opening of new laboratories bolstering the country's processing capacity, DOH spokesperson Rosette Vergeire said last week, resulting in hundreds of new cases tallied every day.
On Saturday, the department also recorded another COVID-19 spike of 76 cases as the nationwide total shot up to 3,094 with the death toll at 144.
According to Worldometers, the number of cases globally stands at 1,201,767 with 64,710 deaths.
Mainland Luzon is entering its fourth week under enhanced community quarantine, which has severely restricted movement and has largely left the vulnerable grappling with uncertainty.
As it stands, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has yet to announce when its social amelioration program would be fully rolled out.
The United Nations has warned the international community that the "whole of humanity" was put at risk by the novel coronavirus, saying millions could die if collective action was not taken. — with a report from Agence France-Presse
If you believe you have come into possible contact with infected patients, you may be directed to the proper office of the Department of Health for advice through the following lines: (632) 8651-7800 local 1149/1150 or (632) 165-364.
You may also opt to call the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at (02) 8807-2631/ 8807-2632/ 8807-2637.
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