COVID-19 claims 109th cop

MANILA, Philippines — A master sergeant died days after testing positive for COVID-19, the Philippine National Police announced yesterday as the PNP recorded 176 new infections.

The PNP Health Service said the 37-year-old officer assigned at the Calabarzon Regional Police died on Sept. 9 due to pneumonia and acute respiratory failure caused by COVID-19.

He was the 109th police officer to have died of COVID-19.

Records showed that the police officer started manifesting mild symptoms on Aug. 28 and subsequently tested positive for the virus. He was brought to a hospital on Aug. 30 where he died after more than a week of battling COVID-19.

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the officer was hypertensive and received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 6.

As of Sunday, the PNP had recorded 2,655 active COVID-19 cases nationwide.

A total of 117,530 police personnel have been fully vaccinated.