NEARLY 200 cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), 15 more fatalities, and 82 recoveries were reported by the Department of Health on Sunday.
This brings the total number of infections to 10,794 with the addition of 184 new cases, and total fatalities to 719 from 704 on Saturday. The number of patients who have recovered was up by 82, or a total of 1,924 of recoveries as of Sunday.
The coronavirus that originated in China is now present in 215 countries and territories. It has infected some 3,862,676 persons as of May 9, according to the World Health Organization, and has killed 265,961 individuals.
A Reuters tally showed 4.03 million infections worldwide, with 276,894 deaths and 1,328,128 recoveries as of Saturday.
Among Filipinos in 46 other countries, there were 2,178 infections as of Sunday and 642 recoveries. The number of fatalities remained at 253, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“Today, for the first time since the DFA began issuing estimates of COVID-affected nationals abroad, there are no new confirmed cases or fatalities due to COVID-19 reported by our foreign service posts,” the DFA said.
“While it could be just the result of weekend dips in reporting, it is still worth taking note. Just as significant, the only reports that came in were of two Filipinos who recovered in two different countries in Europe,” it added.
TESTING
As part of efforts to increase its testing capacity, the Department of Health has accredited the Molecular and Diagnostic Pathology Laboratory of the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) in San Fernando, Pampanga as a Sub-National Reference Laboratory.
The DOH said the state-of-the-art laboratory, which was funded by the Asian Development Bank, is capable of conducting 3,000 tests a day.
The $2.5-million grant covers the construction of the laboratory building and procurement of testing machines, personal protective equipment, and other medical supplies.
The new laboratory was inaugurated on Saturday and started operating on Sunday.
The new accreditation brings to 26 the number of accredited COVID-19 testing laboratories in the country.
As of May 10, the country’s testing capacity is at 7,200 daily.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III pushed for an expanded coverage of testing nationwide as areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) anticipate their transition to general quarantine status.
Sotto said the results of an expanded mass testing will also serve to caution government leaders against prematurely lifting the ECQ in Metro Manila and other areas.
The We Heal As One Center-Ninoy Aquino Stadium discharged on Saturday 21 recovered patients, the biggest single-day tally of survivors from the facility.
“We’re glad to hear and report more recoveries since the quarantine facility began its operations last month. This shows that health infrastructure put in place augments our capacity to save more lives and reduce community spread of the disease,” said Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Action Plan against COVID-19.
The establishment of We Heal As One centers is part of the national government’s drive to locate, isolate, and cure suspected and probable cases of COVID-19 and decongest hospitals.
The speedy construction of the 112-bed quarantine facility was done with the help of private partners Prime BMD and Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. of the Razon Group, the Villar Group, and EEI Corp., and Boysen Philippines.
All We Heal As One centers in Metro Manila, Bulacan, and Clark are designed to bring comfort for the patients as well as protect the safety of the health workers manning the facilities. — With Raymond Africa and Ashzel Hachero
