March 14, 2020 – According to the he Department of Health’s website, the confirmed COVID-19 positive cases as of 3:00PM March 14 now totals to 98.
Updates in CAR:
Abra, CAR has first positive case
The Abra provincial task force on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) confirmed that a 39-year old seaman became the first individual to have contracted the deadly virus not only by the province but also in the Cordillera
See story: Seaman is first postive COVID-19 case in Abra
Benguet suspends classes from March 13-22, 2020
Benguet Governor Melchor D. Diclas suspended classes in all levels from March 13-22, 2020, per Executive Order 2019-13.
Baguio strictly enforces curfew for minors
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong issued Memorandum 36, Series of 2020, indicating the strict implementation of Ordinance 23, Series of 2018 which imposes a curfew on minors starting at 9:00 PM until 4:00 AM of the following morning.
Sagada and Besao imposes monitoring prior to entry
All vehicles bound to the municipalities of Sagada and Besao, Mountain Province are advised to take the Dantay Road for monitoring prior to entry.
The alternate roads of Balili and Taccong are closed temporarily.
The Sagada Rural Health Unit said all persons including residents and visitors of Sagada and Besao are subject to temperature checking and COVID-19 Assessment before allowing them to proceed to their destinations.
Persons to be assessed include passengers from public transportation like buses from Baguio City and Manila and private vehicles.
The LGUs are asking the public, especially the passengers, for their patience and cooperation in undergoing the COVID-19 procedures to ensure safety within the mmunicipalities.
The LGUs also has temporarily suspended tourism related activities and crowd-drawing events as precautionary measure against the COVID-19.
From PIA-CAR
Previous updates:
WHO: COVID-19 now a pandemic; DOH: 3 new cases in PH detected
March 12, 2020 – The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 a pandemic.
Meanwhile, the expected rise of the coronavirus in the Philippines slowed down a bit as Department of Health (DOH) confirmed only three (3) new cases positive COVID-19 cases in the Philippines today compared to the 16 yesterday. The country has now a total of 52. The Health Department also reported the second death in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, new information on measures undertaken by the government is expected to be released to the public by President Rodrigo R. Duterte later tonight. The inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases has agreed to adopt a resolution on measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Here’s DOH’s earlier press release:
“The Department of Health (DOH) confirms the death of the confirmed COVID-19 patient with ID PH35. This brings the total number of mortalities in the country to two (2), including the first COVID-19 death in the Philippines last February 1.
PH35, who experienced symptoms on February 29, was admitted last March 5, 2020 at the Manila Doctors’ Hospital, and swabbed for testing last March 8. The patient who tested positive last March 11 passed away around noon of the same day due to severe pneumonia. The patient had existing medical conditions, namely hypertension and diabetes mellitus. PH35 was admitted together with her husband PH34 who remains confined in Manila Doctors Hospital.
Positive cases in PH jumps to 49
Today, DOH reported 16 additional positive COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 49. The DOH and deployed surveillance teams are now conducting extensive information-gathering and contact tracing activities on the new cases. DOH will provide further details as soon as the information is available.
As of today, PH25-PH28, PH30-PH33 are all in stable condition. PH29, a known contact of PH9, is intubated and has underlying cardiovascular and endocrine conditions.
COVID-19 Updates in the country: PH cases up to 33 per DOH
The Department of Health (DOH) reported nine (9) new confirmed cases (PH25-33) of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), on top of the four (4) new cases (PH21-24) announced yesterday evening, March 9, 2020. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 33.
DOH also clarified that the 11 new cases announced earlier today are in fact new positive samples and not cases. Upon verification, DOH reported that two (2) of the new positive samples received by the Epidemiology Bureau (EB) of DOH are repeat tests on samples taken from cases PH7 and PH8.
The 13 new cases are admitted at various hospitals: the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium (PH21), Cardinal Santos Medical Center (PH22), San Lazaro Hospital (PH23), St. Luke’s Medical Center Quezon City (PH24), New Clark City (NCC) quarantine facility (PH25-26, MVDP repatriates), and the Medical City (PH27-33), respectively.
COVID-19 Updates in the country: President Duterte confirms 24 total PH cases today, Marikina cancels Palaro
Meanwhile, the Public Information office of Marikina confirmed that the city has called off hosting the 2020 Pambansang Palaro after a resident in the city has been found to be one of those infected with the disease.
PH has now 10 cases, CARAA in jeopardy
March 9, 2020 – The Philippines has now a total of 10 coronavirus cases within its territory.
The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed four (4) new patients on Sunday, March 8.
According to the DOH release:
The 7th case is a 38-year-old Taiwanese male. The patient has a history of contact with a Taiwanese foreign national who visited the Philippines and tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan. The patient has no history of travel outside of the country and his symptoms started last March 3.
The 8th case is a 32-year-old Filipino male with history of travel to Japan within the past 14 days. Onset of symptoms began on March 5 .
The 9th case is an 86-year-old American male with pre-existing hypertension and history of travel to USA and South Korea. Symptoms began on 1 March 2020.
The 10th case is a 57-year-old Filipino male with no history of travel outside of the country. He was reported to have had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, however, DOH is currently investigating details of his exposure.
Individuals who suspect they have the virus are encouraged to call the DOH Hotline at (+632) 8-651-7800 local 1149-1150.
On the other hand, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Sunday the suspension of all national and regional events involving students from different localities, including Regional Meets for the Palaro like the CARAA, until further notice.
Meanwhile, Malacanang last week urged the public to remain calm and vigilant against the coronavirus and assured them of the government’s preparedness to stop the further spread of the disease.
COVID-19 Updates in Philippines: COVID confirmed cases up to 6, DOH sounds Red Alert
March 7, 2020 – The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the country’s sixth case and the first localized transmission.
According to the DOH release:
The 6th case is a 59-year-old female and currently admitted at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) on March 5. She is the wife the fifth patient and is currently in “stable condition”,
A 62-year-old Filipino with hypertension and diabetes is the fifth case. He is also a regular visitor of a Muslim prayer hall located in a shopping center at Greenhills, San Juan City. The patient is also confined at the RITM and is said to be in critical condition.
The first three cases are three Chinese tourists.
The first case was confirmed on January 30. The diagnosed patient was a 38-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan. She was already discharged and left the country.
The second case was confirmed on February 2. He is a 44-year-old Chinese male who was the companion of the first case. His death on February 1 was the first recorded outside China.
The third case was confirmed on February 5. He is a 60-year-old Chinese woman who came from Hong Kong. The patient also was cleared to go home to China on January 31.
The fourth case is a a 48-year-old Filipino male who had recently traveled to Japan, He is currently confined at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa and his condition has been described as “stable”.
The DOH also raised the COVID-19 alert system to code red sub-level 1. health Secretary Francisco Duque III, however, clarified that raising the alert level was a preemptive measure to ensure that the public and health care providers can prepare for a possible increase in suspected and confirmed cases of virus infection.
Previous CAR updates:
Updates in CAR: Baguio suspends Classes from March `13 to 22
Mayor Benajmin B. Magalong ordered the suspension of classes in all levels in the different public and private education institutions in the city from March 13-22, 2020 in the light of the increasing Corona virus Disease (COVID) cases aggravated by the local transmission of the virus in the country.
See full story: Baguio Mayor orders class suspension March 13-22
Atok, La Trinidad suspends tourism activities
Atok Mayor Raymundo Sarac suspended tourism activities in his town while La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda temporary suspended crowd drawing and tourism activities in the Benguet capital town.
Panagbenga is cancelled, CARAA suspended
In the local front, the Baguio City Government totally cancelled the 2020 Panagbenga Festival Opening and Grand Float Parade and all remaining related activities, as well as suspending the CARAA meet. The Baguio night market has been suspended for 14 days. The Session Road pedestrianization has also been suspended.
See story: Panagbenga cancelled; CARAA suspended
By Armando M. Bolislis
