THREE Filipino Covid-19 patients, including the couple considered as the first cases of local transmission, have succumbed to the disease, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Thursday night, March 12.
This brought the death toll from Covid-19 in the country to five.
Patient five, the 62-year-old Filipino who used to visit the Muslim prayer hall in San Juan, died Thursday evening, March 12.
He died from acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe pneumonia, the DOH said in a statement.
He was diabetic and hypertensive who developed acute kidney injury. He was earlier reported to be in critical condition.
His wife, 59, who was Patient six, died a day earlier also from acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe pneumonia secondary to Covid-19.
She had suddenly experienced difficulty breathing and was intubated, but expired, the DOH said in a statement.
"Repeat chest x-ray showed progressive pneumonia. PH6 is a known diabetic," the agency.
The wife was first brought to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center on March 5, but was transferred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
Patient 37, an 88-year-old Filipino woman, died Thursday afternoon from acute respiratory failure.
She was admitted on March 6 at the Philippine Heart Center, although the symptoms first manifested on February 28. She tested positive for Covid-19 on March 11 and was reported to have existing hypertension.
On Wednesday night, the DOH also reported the death of Patient 35, a 67-year old Filipina.
Back in February, the DOH recorded the first Covid-19 death in Patient 2, a 44-year-old Chinese male. He was also the first death outside China. (MVI/HDT/SunStar Philippines)