(Eagle News)– A 13-year old girl from Quezon City is reported to be the youngest coronavirus case in the country, the Department of Health said on Sunday, March 15.
The 13-year old is listed as patient no. 135 by the DOH. She tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) today, Sunday, March 15, the DOH said. She is among the 29 new confirmed coronavirus cases announced by the DOH on Sunday, March 15.
Based on the data provided by the DOH, the girl was admitted in a Quezon City health facility on March 4. She has no travel history outside the country, not any history of exposure to any COVID-19 patient
So far, there are 22 confirmed COVID-19 patients in Quezon City.
There are 140 total cases of the coronavirus in the country, including 11 fatalities.
The youngest patient is this recently reported 13-year old girl while the oldest patient is an 88-year old woman — a resident of Pasig City– admitted at the Philippine Heart Center. This 88-year old patient died on March 12.
The DOH had previously said that more than 80 percent of the coronavirus cases are considered “mild”, and that only five percent are critical cases.
Most of those who experience severe symptoms are the elderly with underlying illnesses.
Experts also noted that if children get infected with the virus, they just present mild symptoms.
“We know children get infected with the virus, but they don’t appear to get very sick or die,” said Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
(report from Madelyn Villar Moratillo, Eagle News Service)