Philippines records 45 new COVID-19 cases, total soars to 187

The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines rose to 187 on Tuesday after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed 45 new infections.

The DOH also reported the recovery of another patient, bringing the total number of recoveries recorded in the country to four.

The department identified the latest recovery as Patient 25, a 31-year-old Filipino male who was repatriated from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

He is the second Filipino to recover from COVID-19.

The patient is set to be discharged on Tuesday after he tested negative for COVID-19 twice at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital.

New cases

Half of the 45 new cases are male while 14 are senior citizens.

Ten of the new patients are confined at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, six are at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, five are at the St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City, and four are at The Medical City.

The rest of the cases are spread out across various hospitals in Metro Manila, including one in Cotabato.

The DOH is still verifying the areas of residence of the majority of the new cases, but some of them have been confirmed to be from Quezon City (3), Mandaluyong, San Juan (2), Muntinlupa, and Caloocan.

The entire Luzon is under an enhanced community quarantine from Tuesday, March 17, until April 13 as part of government efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.—NB/LDF, GMA News