THE number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reached 6,459 on Monday with the addition of 200 while the death toll increased by 19, or a total now of 428, according to the Department of Health.
As for those who have recovered from the disease, there were 41 new cases, bringing the total to 613.
Among the latest fatalities is former senator and former environment secretary Heherson Alvarez. Alvarez, 80, and his wife Cecile Guidote-Alvarez were reported to have been infected and hospitalized last month.
COVID-19, which was first reported in China in December last year, has spread to 213 countries and territories and has infected some 2.25 million individuals and killed around 152,700 persons as of April 19, according to the World Health Organization
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines remains the top among countries with COVID-19 transmission. Now at second place is Singapore, followed by Malaysia.
Among Filipinos abroad, 900 living or working in 42 countries have been infected, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
There were three additional deaths, bringing the total to 143.
“Of the 42 countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases, the DFA reports as of today six new cases, four new recoveries and three new deaths in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East and Africa,” the DFA said.
Of the 990 cases, the DFA said, 584 are undergoing treatment while 263 have recovered.
RITM CASES
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), the national reference laboratory for COVID-19, reported at least 40 of its personnel testing positive for the disease.
“Around 40 have tested positive for COVID-19. But they are not severely ill. Those with mild symptoms are quarantined at our dormitory,” said RITM Director Dr. Celia Carlos in a television interview.
She said the few who manifested more serious symptoms have been admitted at the RITM hospital facility.
On Sunday, the DOH said RITM is scaling down its operations to give way to some safety procedures, and this could hamper testing for COVID-19 cases.
Carlos said the RITM, for now, is prioritizing tests for its staff members.
“Processing their test samples is our priority. When we finish that, that’s the only time we will start processing external samples,” said Carlos.
The RITM is the laboratory facility that can process the most number of COVID-19 samples at 2,000 tests a day.
LABORATORY FACILITIES
The DOH said there are 16 other equally-capable laboratories accredited to test COVID-19 samples.
Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said the testing of a total of 55,465 individuals was made possible by all the 17 laboratories, including RITM (34,350 tests).
They are the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (3,107 tests), San Lazaro Hospital (1,118), Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (2,699), Southern Philippines Medical Center (2,402), UP National Institutes of Health (1,264), Lung Center of the Philippines (2,365), Western Visayas Medical Center (1,903), and Bicol Regional Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory (174).
Also licensed by the DOH are St. Luke’s Medical Center- QC (1,612), The Medical City-Ortigas (265), Victoriano Luna Hospital (101), Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (179), St. Luke’s Medical Center-BGC (1,646), Makati Medical Center (568), Philippine Red Cross (1,590), and Chinese General Hospital (130).
“There are 40 more laboratories undergoing the process of licensing,” Vergeire said.
ARMED FORCES
The military said 22 soldiers, six dependents, and five civilian personnel have been infected by COVID-19.
Twenty of the soldiers have recovered, said AFP public affairs officer Capt. Jonathan Zata.
Among those who have fully recovered were AFP chief Gen. Felimon Santos Jr. and a senior Navy officer officer.
Zata could not also say if some of the infected soldiers were deployed to checkpoints.
As to the PNP, 71 policemen and civilian employees have been infected, with three deaths. The PNP is leading checkpoint operations under the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. — With Ashzel Hachero and Victor Reyes
