Philippines' COVID-19 death toll now at 14

The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the Philippines has reached 14, the Department of Health said on Tuesday night.

The department identified the two latest fatalities as Patients 126 and 129.

Patient 126 was a 76-year-old Filipino male residing in Rizal province who died on Tuesday afternoon of acute respiratory distress syndrome and severe pneumonia.

He was admitted to the Adventist Medical Center Manila on March 9 and tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 on March 15.

Aside from COVID-19, Patient 126 also had Type 2 diabetes and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

Patient 129 was a 67-year-old male Quezon City who died on Tuesday at the Lung Center of the Philippines due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 and community-acquired pneumonia.

The DOH said the patient was also hypertensive.

The DOH earlier said that the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has risen to 187.

The department confirmed 45 new infections on Tuesday.

The DOH 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. -NB, GMA News