The Department of Health said last Thursday that three more individuals who tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 have died, bringing to five the total number of deaths in the country.
The fatalities were a 59-year-old Filipina from Rizal, her 62-year-old husband, and an 88-year-old Filipina.
The 59-year-old victim is the country’s sixth confirmed case of COVID-19. She was initially admitted at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City last March 5 and was eventually transferred at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City.
The DoH said that the woman “suddenly experienced difficulty of breathing and was intubated late evening of March 11.”
“She expired the same night from acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe pneumonia secondary to COVID-19.”
The DoH noted that “repeat chest X-ray showed progressive pneumonia,” adding that the patient is a known diabetic.
Her 62-year-old husband died earlier in the day due to “acute respiratory distress syndrome from severe pneumonia secondary to COVID-19.” He is the country’s fifth confirmed case and first case of local transmission here.
The DoH said that the man was a known diabetic and hypertensive who developed acute kidney injury. Health officials previously reported that he regularly visited a Muslim prayer hall in Barangay Greenhills in San Juan City.
The third fatality was an 88-year-old Filipina who died last Thursday due to acute respiratory failure. She was admitted on March 6 at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City after experiencing symptoms on Feb. 28. She was reported to have existing hypertension, the DoH said. (Analou de Vera)
