Philippines: 252 health workers infected with COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has already infected 252 healthcare workers in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday.

Dr. Beverly Ho said that of this number, 152 are doctors while 63 are nurses.

“Kumpirmado po na 11 ang pumanaw na healthcare workers dahil sa COVID-19,” Ho said.

The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, however, earlier said that 21 doctors have already succumbed to COVID-19.

This is the first time that the DOH has released data on the number of healthcare workers who have contracted COVID-19.

Ho explained that this was because the case investigation form for patients is sometimes left incomplete.

“If the occupation [field] is left blank, we will never know from our database how many healthcare workers were actually affected,” she said

The DOH earlier revised its policy for COVID-19 testing to include healthcare workers manifesting symptoms.

Nationwide, over 3,000 Filipinos have been infected with the respiratory disease, 182 of whom have died and 96 have recovered. -NB/MDM, GMA News