COVID-19 cases in Philippines up by 96, total now at 803
MANILA, Philippines (Update 1 5:36 p.m.) — The Philippines reported 96 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, its biggest one-day leap yet, bringing the country’s total infections to 803.
The big leaps in the number of cases come as more people suspected of contracting the disease get tested following the arrival of test kits from donor countries and the additional laboratories processing samples.
Only 2,287 people across the archipelago have been tested since late January, making the country a laggard among its Southeast Asian peers. As of March 20, Vietnam tested 15,637 people, Malaysia tested 13,876 and Thailand tested 7,084.
The Department of Health also reported nine new fatalities, raising the confirmed virus death toll to 54.
Patient 366, 46th fatality
- 63-year-old Filipino male from Muntinlupa City with no travel history
- He passed away on March 23 due to acute respiratory failure, community-acquired pneumonia high risk, sepsis, COVID-19
Patient 637, 47th fatality
- 75-year-old Filipino male from Quezon City with no travel history but is related to a known COVID-19 case
- He passed away on March 19 but was also confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 25
- Died due to acute respiratory failure type 1 secondary to community acquired pneumonia high risk, acute kidney injury secondary to infection
Patient 571, 48th fatality
- 72-year-old Filipino female from Muntinlupa City with unknown travel and exposure history
- He passed away on March 26 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia high risk, septic shock
Patient 178, 49th fatality
- 74-year-old Filipino male from Manila with no travel and exposure history
- Expired on March 19 due to ARDS secondary to severe pneumonia, COVID-19
Patient 389, 50th fatality
- 71-year-old Filipino female from Quezon City with no travel history
- Expired on March 17 but was only confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 22
- Died due to acute respiratory failure, sepsis, community acquired pneumonia high risk
Patient 462, 51st fatality
- 83-year-old Filipino female from Cavite with no travel history
- Expired on March 17 but was only confirmed to have COVID-19 on March 22
- Died due to acute respiratory failure, pneumonia high risk, acute myocardial infarction
Patient 437, 52nd fatality
- 57-year-old male from Manila with no travel history
- Passed away on March 18 but was only confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 22
- Died due to cardiogenic shock, acute coronary syndrome, dilated cardiomyopathy, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart failure, acute respiratory failure secondary to community-acquired pneumonia
Patient 401, 53rd fatality
- 62-year-old Filipino male from Manila with no travel history but related to a known COVID-19 case
- Passed away on March 22 but was only confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 23
Patient 306, 54th fatality
- 67-year-old Filipino female from Quezon City with unknown travel and exposure history
- Passed away on March 26 due to acute respiratory disease secondary to COVID-19
Meanwhile, there are now 31 patients who have been cleared of COVID-19. The three new recoveries are:
Patient 4, 29th recovery
- 48-year-old Filipino male from Taguig City with travel history to Japan
- Discharged on March 19 asymptomatic with one negative result
Patient 66, 30th recovery
- 25-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City with no travel history but with exposure to known COVID-19 cases
- Discharged on March 25 asymptomatic with two negative results
Patient 42, 31st recovery
- 51-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City with travel history to Japan
- Discharged on March 26 asymptomatic with one negative result
The DOH also said that another senior health official tested positive for COVID-19. The DOH undersecretary has “mild symptoms,” Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
The main island of Luzon, home to half of the country’s population, is in the second week of an enhanced community quarantine aimed to contain the spread of the contagion.
More than 500,000 people across the globe have now contracted the new coronavirus, overwhelming healthcare systems, pushing economies to the brink of collapse and triggering government-ordered lockdowns.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says on Sunday that he had contracted COVID-19, testing positive at a key point in his flailing campaign for re-election.
Hipkins saYS on his official social media feed that he would need to isolate for up to five days -- less than two weeks before his country's general election.
The leader of the centre-left Labour Party said he started to experience cold symptoms on Saturday and had cancelled most of his weekend engagements. — AFP
The World Health Organization and US health authorities say Friday they are closely monitoring a new variant of COVID-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown.
The WHO classified the new variant as one under surveillance "due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries", it wrote in a bulletin about the pandemic late Thursday.
So far, the variant has only been detected in Israel, Denmark and the United States. — AFP
The World Health Organization says on Friday that the number of new COVID-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80% in the last month, days after designating a new "variant of interest".
The WHO declared in May that Covid is no longer a global health emergency, but has warned that the virus will continue to circulate and mutate, causing occasional spikes in infections, hospitalisations and deaths.
In its weekly update, the UN agency said that nations reported nearly 1.5 million new cases from July 10 to August 6, an 80% increase compared to the previous 28 days. — AFP
The head of US intelligence says that there was no evidence that the COVID-19 virus was created in the Chinese government's Wuhan research lab.
In a declassified report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) says they had no information backing recent claims that three scientists at the lab were some of the very first infected with COVID-19 and may have created the virus themselves.
Drawing on intelligence collected by various member agencies of the US intelligence community (IC), the ODNI report says some scientists at the Wuhan lab had done genetic engineering of coronaviruses similar to COVID-19. — AFP
Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over Covid lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street when he was prime minister, a UK parliament committee ruled on Thursday.
The cross-party Privileges Committee said Johnson, 58, would have been suspended as an MP for 90 days for "repeated contempts (of parliament) and for seeking to undermine the parliamentary process".
But he avoided any formal sanction by his peers in the House of Commons by resigning as an MP last week.
In his resignation statement last Friday, Johnson pre-empted publication of the committee's conclusions, claiming a political stitch-up, even though the body has a majority from his own party.
He was unrepentant again on Thursday, accusing the committee of being "anti-democratic... to bring about what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination".
Calling it "beneath contempt", he said it was "for the people of this to decide who sits in parliament, not Harriet Harman", the veteran opposition Labour MP who chaired the seven-person committee. — AFP
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