Slight increase in COVID-19 patients at PGH but most have mild symptoms

Doctors at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) have noticed a slight increase in the number of patients being admitted for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) over recent days, the hospital director said Thursday.

According to Raffy Tima’s report on “24 Oras,” PGH, many of the COVID-19 patients only had what doctors called mild symptoms.

Dr. Gerardo Legazpi said the number of COVID-19 patients with deteriorating to severe or critical condition at the PGH has not gone up.

“Just like sa observations sa buong mundo at sa Pilipinas, mas maraming nagpa-positive na mild, even among health workers. ‘Yun ang aming pasalamat sa Diyos na kahit nagpo-positive sila, I would think 99.9 percent are mild,” he said.

The hospital director added that there was a decrease in the number of elderly and children testing positive for COVID-19 thanks to the strict regulations under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

“Mas kaunti ‘yung sa extremes of age na kung saan mataas ang maraming namamatay so mas napupunta sila sa middle aged na kahit ECQ, gumagalaw pa rin, or the young population,” Legazpi added.

However, he said it is still too early to say if the increase in COVID-19 admissions was caused by loosening of quarantine restrictions.

The Philippines has logged 20,382 COVID-19 cases with 4,248 recoveries and 984 deaths as of Thursday afternoon.

Among the 14,621 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 13,712 are mild, 827 are asymptomatic, 63 are severe, while 19 are in critical condition. -NB, GMA News