Philippines' COVID-19 death toll up to 96, cases now at 2,311

The Philippines’ death toll from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) climbed to 96 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed eight more fatalities.

The department also announced that the number of infections nationwide rose to 2,311 after 227 new cases were reported as the government is considering a “massive forced quarantine” to stem the spread of the respiratory illness.

The DOH recorded one recovery bringing the total of those who have been healed from COVID-19 to 50.

The department earlier explained that the surge in cases this month is caused by the expansion of the country’s testing capacity after several sub-national laboratories became operational, while over 40 more are seeking certification to conduct tests.

Eight new fatalities

The latest fatalities, all Filipinos, were Patients 692, 1,723, 1,039, 621, 1,811, 1,089, 1,299, and 415.

Patient 692 was a hypertensive 80-year-old male San Juan resident with no travel history. He died on March 30 due to high-risk pneumonia and COVID-19.

Patient 1,723 was a 70-year-old male from Cebu City whose travel and exposure history are still unknown. He died on March 28, the same day that his COVID-19 test results came back positive. He died of respiratory distress syndrome with multiple organ failure secondary to COVID-19. He also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary artery disease.

Patient 1,039 was an 84-year-old male Mandaluyong resident with no travel history and comorbidities. He died on March 28 due to pneumonia and COVID-19.

Patient 621 was a 77-year-old male from Manila with no travel history. He died on March 29 of septic shock, pneumonia, and COVID-19. He also had prostatic cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Patient 1,811 was a hypertensive 66-year-old male Parañaque City resident whose travel history is still unknown. He died on March 23 but only tested positive for COVID-19 on March 28. He died due to acute respiratory failure and community-acquired pneumonia.

Patient 1,089 was a 65-year-old female from Quezon City with no history of travel. She died on March 22 but her COVID-19 test results only came back positive on March 27. She died of acute respiratory distress syndrome and high-risk pneumonia but also had diabetes and cardiac disease.

Patient 1,299 was a 73-year-old male Pasig City resident whose travel history is still unknown. He died on March 21 but only tested positive for COVID-19 four days later. He died of several complications secondary to COVID-19 but also had numerous comorbidities.

Patient 415 was a 79-year-old female from Makati City with unknown travel history. She died on March 28 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to community-acquired high-risk pneumonia and COVID-19. She also had hypertension and hypothyroidism.

One new recovery

Meanwhile, one more patient has recovered from the respiratory disease.

Patient 179 is a 59-year-old Filipino male from Taguig City with no travel history.

He first began manifesting COVID-19 symptoms on March 11 but he was discharged from the hospital on March 29 after testing negative for the disease twice. -NB, GMA News