MANILA – A young cardiologist was among the six new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths as the confirmed cases of the virus in the country is now close to the 400 mark.
The Philippine Heart Association said in a statement on Sunday that a “young, brilliant, promising” doctor died in the line of duty on Saturday after contracting the virus from a patient.
The said doctor, who was on fellowship at a hospital in Metro Manila, got the disease from a patient, who kept her travel history from an Asian country that has COVID-19 outbreak weeks ago.
“It is a sad day for the whole association as we have lost one of our own in the fight against COVID,” the PHA said. “He is a casualty of this war. We honor him as he lost his young life while fulfilling his duties as a doctor.”
“Please pray for the eternal repose of his soul. Please pray for all our members and all our other doctors and healthcare workers in the frontlines and all the people who are afflicted by the disease,” it added.
Two more physicians in separate hospitals in Metro Manila have lost their bout to COVID-19 on late Saturday.
As of Sunday afternoon, the death toll due to the disease reached 25, while the number of cases of COVID-19 in the country went up to 380, and the number of recovered patients is at 17.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a Laging Handa public briefing on Sunday that the number of positive cases is expected to rise further with the arrival of testing kits.
She added that the DOH is working on having designated hospitals for Covid-19 patients to prevent having “mix of patients and cut further infection or transmission of this disease”.
“Since last week, we have announced three new referral hospitals will be established here in Metro Manila, the UP-PGH, Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan, and Lung Center of the Philippines,” she said.
“May final arrangements na ginagawa ngayon and hopefully towards the end of the week we can announce when we can accommodate patients in these referral hospitals,” she added./PN
