PNP death toll due to COVID-19 now 74

Another member of the police force succumbed to COVID-19, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday, bringing the total number of fatalities due to the disease in the organization to 74.

In a statement, PNP chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar said the latest fatality was a 54-year-old police master sergeant in Iloilo City.

The PNP Health Services said the cop experienced shortness of breath on June 8. He was admitted to a hospital and underwent an RT-PCR test, which turned positive. He died 21 days later.

Eleazar expressed his condolences to the family and assured them of assistance and benefits.

Eight personnel suspected to have close contacts with the deceased cop also underwent COVID-19 tests. Four of them yielded a positive result.

As of Wednesday, the PNP has recorded a total of 27, 837 COVID-19 cases in the organization with 128 new infections. At least 26,028 have recovered while 1,771 are still active cases

According to the PNP, a total of 35,671 or over 16% of PNP personnel have already received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 13,301 are now fully vaccinated.  —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News