THE Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, March 31, said the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the country surged past 2,000, while mortalities increased to 88, with 10 more reported in the last 24 hours.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, DOH Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire announced that they have confirmed an additional 538 cases, bringing the total count to 2,084.
This was the highest number of cases recorded over 24 hours mainly because of the availability of test kits and the accreditation of sub-national laboratories that have been allowed to release test results, Vergeire said.
Of the 10 additional mortalities, eight were male and two were female.
Seven others have recovered, bringing the number of patients who have recovered to 49.
As of March 30, the DOH said a total of 15,337 tests have been conducted in the country. The number includes retests and validation tests as well as the 1,336 tests conducted by accredited sub-national laboratories.
Among the mortalities, only Patient (PH) 1680, a 51-year-old Filipino female from Rizal, had no pre-existing medical condition. Travel history was unknown. She died on March 24, but infection was confirmed on March 25.
The nine others had comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Six were elderly, aged 69 to 89.
PH935 was 83, a Filipino male from Paranaque City. He died on March 29, three days after he was confirmed positive for Covid-19 on March 26. He had no travel history and had been suffering from chronic kidney disease, hypertension and diabetes.
PH798 was a Filipino male, 74, from Quezon City. He tested positive on March 20 and died on March 29. He had the following comorbidities: hypertension, diabetes, cardiac disease. He had no travel history.
PH1419 was 69, a Filipino male from Quezon City with no travel history nor exposure to a Covid-19 patient. He tested positive on March 27 and died on March 30 of septic shock. Aside from hypertension, he had cerebrovascular accident infarct.
PH1032 was a 64-year-old Filipino female, who was hypertensive and diabetic. She was found positive for the novel coronavirus on March 26. A day later, on March 27, she was dead.
PH2045, a 60-year-old Filipino male from Quezon City who had hypertension, died on March 26, a day after his case was confirmed. The DOH has yet to determine whether the patient had traveled prior to hospitalization.
PH1372 was a Filipino male, 89, from Caloocan City. He was found positive on March 27 and died on March 28 of fatal arrhythmia secondary to severe acidosis secondary to sepsis. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. It was not known whether he had traveled.
PH1508 was a 72-year-old Filipino male from Rizal with unknown travel history. He died on March 26, but was confirmed as a Covid-19 case only a day later. He was hypertensive.
PH862 was a 78-year-old Filipino male from Quezon City with hypertension and unknown travel history. He died on March 25 but his infection was confirmed on March 26.
PH1240 was a 51-year-old Filipino male from San Juan City, also with an unknown travel history. He died on March 28, two days after his test results were released. He had hyperthyroidism.
Of the seven who recovered, six are male and one is female. Only two, PH258 and PH96 had travel history.
PH258 is a 68-year-old Filipino-American male from Mandaluyong City. He had traveled to Dubai, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt.
PH96 is a 39-year-old male from Abra with travel history from the United Arab Emirates and Thailand.
The rest had not traveled before they contracted the new coronavirus.
PH577 is a Filipino male, 64, from Rizal; PH271 is a 60-year-old Filipino male from Quezon City; PH58 is a 45-year-old Filipino female from Makati City with no travel history, but was exposed to a known Covid-19 case; PH185 is a 48-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City; and PH 197 is a 77-year-old Filipino male from Rizal.
She appealed to the public to help prevent the spread of the new virus by heeding the guidelines and protocols set by the government and staying at home. (LMY/Jove T. Moya/SunStar Philippines)