Seven more lives were lost to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines, bringing the total fatalities to 78, the Department of Health announced Monday, March 30.
128 new positive cases were added to the list of COVID-19 patients, totaling 1,546 for the entire country, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Meanwhile, no recoveries have been reported today. The total stands at 42.
The health department continues to attribute the spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to the increased testing capacity of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and extended several sub-national laboratories that became operational just recently..
The RITM can now process 900 to 1,000 tests per day while the sub-national laboratories can perform 80 to 160 tests daily.
Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration approved on Monday the five rapid test kits that could detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The recent deaths today were identified as Patients 149, 587, 647, 1,446, 1,447, 1,448, and 1,489.
Patient 149, a hypertensive 61-year old female from Makati City with no travel and exposure history, died on March 27 due to acute respiratory failure secondary to community-acquired pneumonia, secondary to COVID-19.
Patient 587, a 79-year old male Muntinlupa City resident with no travel history, died on Monday due to acute respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia and COVID-19.
Patient 647, a 43-year old male from Parañaque City with no history of travel or exposure to known COVID-19 cases, died on March 27 due to acute respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia and COVID-19, and myocardial dysfunction.
Patient 1,446, a 59-year old male from Davao City with no travel history, died on March 23 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to high-risk community-acquired pneumonia, hypoxia, and underlying cardiac disease. His test results came out on Monday which tested positive for COVID-19.
Patient 1,447, a 45-year old male Davao City resident whose travel and exposure history remain unknown, died on March 23 due to cardiopulmonary arrest, acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to high-risk community-acquired pneumonia, and hypoxia. His results case results only came back on Monday which tested positive.
Patient 1,488, a 60-year old male from Muntinlupa City, died on March 26 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, and COVID-19. His nationality is under validation by the DOH together with his travel and exposure history.
Patient 1,489, a hypertensive and diabetic 74-year old male Quezon City resident whose travel and exposure history are still unknown, died on March 21 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to pneumonia. His test results just came out on Monday which tested positive for COVID-19. (RJ Espartinez)