COVID-19 death toll rises to 8 as DOH confirms 2 more deaths

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday confirmed two additional deaths from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing the death toll to eight.

In its statement, the DOH said the two new COVID-19 deaths were on top of the one announced earlier in the day.

"This includes the mortality earlier announced by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Medical Center in San Fernando, Pampanga," said the DOH.

No other details yet are available about the two new mortalities as of this posting, as the DOH continues to gather more information about them.

The development came just hours after the DOH earlier confirmed that a COVID-19 patient died Friday in Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental.

The confirmed COVID-19 case, referred to as Patient 40 (PH40) died at 9 p.m. while confined at Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC).

The DOH said the patient's cause of death is "acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe pneumonia with concomitant acute kidney injury."

As of Friday, the DOH said the number of COVID-19 cases has reached 64.

Five other COVID-19 cases led to death in the country. These include a Chinese national—the first fatality from the disease outside China—and four Filipinos. — MDM, GMA News