70 a day died of COVID-19 from April 1 to 21, DOH data show

An average of 70 people died a day due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from April 1 to 21 this year, data from the Department of Health show.

According to Lei Alviz’s report on “24 Oras,” this is higher than the daily average in August of 68 deaths per day.

“’Yun pong ating form ng progression nung sakit nakita natin. And that is part of the course of the disease,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

(We saw the progression of the COVID-19 and that is part of the course of the disease.)

“Pangalawa, syempre lagi namin sinasabi ‘pag tumataas ang kaso talagang we expect na baka mas maraming deaths tayo. And we have seen this increase in the number of cases for the past two months,”  she added.

(Second, we have said that whenever cases increase, we can expect more fatalities. And we have seen this increase in the number of cases for the past two months.)

A total of 1,468 individuals have died from April 1 to 21, according to GMA research team, based on DOH figures.

This is nine percent of the over 16,000 total COVID-19 fatalities since the pandemic began in the Philippines. Data also showed that the figure is nearing the total number of fatalities recorded from March 1 to 31 at 1,643.

Of the 1,468 fatalities in April, 65 percent or 954 are senior citizens. Most of the deaths belonging to this age group are from 70 to 74 years old.

Over 30 percent of the fatalities came from the National Capital Region, followed by 20 percent from Region III and 17 percent from Region IV-A.

Vergeire said the DOH is looking into the instances of COVID-19 fatalities.

“Kailangan namin pag-aralan ‘yung mga instances na ito, kung saan, ilan ba ‘yung sinasabi nating hindi nakarating sa ospital, ilan ba ‘yung sinasabi natin na nag-progress ang sakit sa bahay,” she said.

(We need to study the instances about where, how many do not reach the hospital and how many cases got worse at home.)

“All of these things are being studied right now so that we can be able to identify all of these factors,” she added.

The DOH also urged qualified individuals to get inoculated against the illness.—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News