DOH: Figure may double by yearend if…
CORONAVIRUS disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines breached the grim milestone of 1 million yesterday, 15 months after the first case was detected, while the death toll neared 17,000 after 70 more patients lost their battle against the deadly virus.
In its latest bulletin, the Department of Health reported 8,929 new cases that raised the number of infections to 1,006,428 while the number of deaths rose to 16,853 for a case fatality rate of 1.67.
The Philippines, which detected its first COVID case in a 38-year-old Chinese woman on January 30, 2020, has the second highest number of cases and casualties in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.
The DOH, through Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, said the figures could have been much higher if not for the prompt action of the government, particularly the imposition of community lockdowns to prevent mass transmission.
In an online press conference, Vergeire did not address that fact that the country refused to ban flights coming from China at the onset of the pandemic, allowing the virus to establish a foothold in the country through Chinese visitors. In contrast, other Southeast Asian countries, like Vietnam, immediately clamped down their borders, explaining why they have less infections and casualties.
“One of the initial decisions is to have that lockdown. If we didn’t do that, we would have had more cases now than what we are having,” said Vergeire. “We are not saying the system is perfect. But we are doing our best to protect public health, expand our capacity, and manage this public health emergency.”
Vergeire said it is imperative for the national and local governments to double their efforts to prevent the figures from doubling by the end of the year. She said they need the help of the public by strictly adhering to public health protocols.
“That is the objective of trying to control the increase in the number of cases. That’s why we are further intensifying all the things we are doing,” she said.
“The government cannot do it alone. To be able to contain and prevent this, whatever we are doing now, we have to double it,” Vergeire added.
On the bright side, there were 11,333 more recoveries, meaning the number of survivors rose to 914,952.
The number of active cases dipped further to 74,623, with 95.4 percent mild cases, 1.4 percent asymptomatic cases, 1.3 percent severe cases, 1 percent critical cases, and 0.87 percent moderate cases.
Sixteen more overseas Filipinos have tested positive for the deadly virus, bringing the number of infection to 18,253 in 93 countries, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The DFA reported no new fatality among overseas Filipinos. The current death toll stands at 1,126, with 732 recorded in the Middle East and African regions.
The DFA said there were four new recoveries, bringing the total number of survivors to 11,194.
Two more PNP personnel have died due to COVID-19, raising to 55 the death toll in the police force.
PNP chief Debold Sinas said the fatalities were a 46-year-old cop assigned at the Valenzuela City police station and a 39-year-old non-uniformed female personnel assigned at the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame.
The policeman, who is immuno-compromised with hypertension and diabetes, tested positive for the deadly virus last April 19, three days after he showed up at the police station’s health unit with fever and cough. He died last Saturday.
The second fatality, assigned at the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management, was taken to a hospital on Saturday due to pneumonia after testing positive for the virus and died the following day.
“The bereaved families of both PNP personnel will receive the full financial support and social benefits,” said Sinas.
The PNP Administrative Support for COVID-19 Task Force has reported 107 more infections in the police ranks, raising the total cases in the PNP to 19,639 as of Sunday night.
Of the total cases, 17, 654 have recovered from the virus, including 240 who recovered on Sunday, while the number of active cases stood at 1,930. — With Ashzel Hachero and Victor Reyes
