MANILA, Philippines — The national police on Wednesday morning recorded another coronavirus-linked death of a Cebu-based police officer, a 45-year old male patient, who is assigned at the Police Regional Office 7 in Cebu City.
He is the fourth consecutive case of recent PNP fatalities from Central Visayas, the PNP said, where a 100-member contingent was recently deployed to support enhanced community quarantine enforcement in Metro Cebu.
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As of Wednesday morning, the PNP has recorded nine COVID-related deaths of PNP personnel from the 518 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the agency's ranks. According to latest update from the PNP Health Service, two new cases have been added since Tuesday night's total of 516 cases, both of whom belonged to the National Capital Region Police Office.
Four of the nine deaths were from Central Visayas.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, Police Gen. Archie Gamboa, who serves as chief of the PNP, expressed grief and condolences over the latest police frontliner death.
“We are doing our best to provide immediate medical attention to our police patients and to help keep our frontliners safe,” he said.
READ: PNP to send 100 cops to augment Cebu City ECQ
Gamboa said that the PNP leadership is "alarmed" at the increasing rate of casualties of police personnel infected with the new pathogen, after the PNP posted a 50.9% recovery rate at the start of June.
Cases of PNP personnel with the virus represent 1.6% of the total cases recorded nationwide by the health department.
Meanwhile, 313 PNP patients have since recovered while 160 personnel remain in quarantine facilities, 14 under home quarantine, and 22 undergoing treatment in medical facilities.
The PNP is still in the process of fast-tracking the development and construction of a new RT PCR Laboratory in Cebu City itself and is seeking DOH approval of the proposed site of the testing facility.