Primer’s COVID-19 Daily Update: March 26, 2020

To keep you in the loop on the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines, Philippine Primer rounded up the latest updates you need to know today:

Number of cases

As of 4 p.m. today, the Department of Health has recorded 71 new cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines, raising the total number of cases to 707.

DOH also reported two (2) new recoveries and seven (7) additional mortalities bringing the total number of recoveries to 28 and mortalities to 45.

Zambales and Laguna records first cases

Adding to the number of cases in Luzon, the province of Zambales and the town of Los Baños in Laguna has recorded their first cases of COVID-19.

In a statement made by the Zambales Provincial Health Office, the confirmed case is a US citizen who resides in San Antonio, Zambales. The patient had a history of travel from Cavite to Manila. He returned to Zambales on March 15 and got fever and diarrhea the following day. As of writing, contact tracing is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, the town of Los Baños in Laguna also records their first confirmed case of the virus. The patient was a 69-year-old resident who passed away while waiting for test results. The patient had a travel history in Metro Manila.

Cebu now under state of calamity 

The Cebu Provincial Board declared the Province of Cebu under a state of calamity and extreme public health emergency during a special session held today. Because of this, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia was given authorization to initiate and take appropriate measures to keep those in their province safe. The board also allowed the provincial treasurer to use the province’s calamity funds to support the emergency measures to be implemented.

In response to this, Governor Garcia issued Executive Order No. 5-N which places the province of Cebu under ECQ.

While other protocols and guidelines have yet to be released, the following are the salient points included in Cebu’s ECQ:

• Entry of international passengers wil be prohibited starting March 27, 2020, at 12:01 a.m.
• Outbound travel will still be allowed
• The movement of cargo in all airports and seaports will remain unimpeded.

The Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be assisting in the implementation of the E.O.

The Province of Negros Occidental now under ECQ

This afternoon, Governor Bong Lacson signed Executive Order No. 20-20 that places the entire province of Negros Occidental under ECQ. The ECQ will commence on March 30 at 12:10 a.m. and will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. of April 14.

Much like the Luzon ECQ, the Negros Occidental ECQ also implements the closure of establishments, closure of borders, ports and airports, and the suspension of mass transportation among others.

Asian Hospital and Medical Center reaches full capacity

As the cases of COVID-19 patients continue to rise, a number of private hospitals have declared that they are no longer able to accept more patients as their facilities reach full capacity. The Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa City has also declared that they are now unable to accept anymore COVID-19 related patients due as they have exceeded full capacity. They will, however, continue to accept patients with other diseases and sicknesses.

Other major hospitals that have declared full capacity due to COVID-19 are as follows:

• St. Luke’s Medical Center in  Quezon City
• St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City  in Taguig City
• De los Santos Medical Center in Quezon City
• The Medical City in Pasig City
• Makati Medical Center in Makati City

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Sources: sugbonews.com, Cebu Provincial Government, Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, Zambales Provincial Health Office, cnnphilippines.com, Municipal Government of Los Baños, Asian Hospital and Medical Center