(Eagle News) – The Department of Health (DOH) announced 220 new confirmed COVID-19 cases bringing the country’s total to 4,648.
The COVID-19 related deaths also increased the past day as 50 more fatalities were recorded. This brings to 297 the virus-related fatalities in the country, as of 4 p.m. Sunday, April 12.
There were also 40 new recoveries reported bringing the country’s total to 197.
Health Undersecretary Dra. Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they will soon release more complete information about the country’s COVID-19 cases in the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker.
The DOH said that the increase in cases was also due to the increased COVID-19 testing capacity of the country.
Meanwhile, Vergeire also clarified that the DOH did not order any stop to the counting of COVID-19 deaths.
The DOH is now investigating the source of this false information circulating in social media.
The department also asked local government units to help look for solutions on where to place unclaimed COVID-19 dead or fatalities as the local hospitals have limited space in their mortuaries.
Vergeire announced that the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) in Quezon City had already acquired a “mobile freezer” for unclaimed bodies – both for those who died due to COVID-19 and those who died due to other causes.
She said other health facilities are also encouraged to acquire mobile freezers for unclaimed cadavers.
“COVID-19 should stop at your doorstep,” the DOH spokesperson said in a virtual presser on Sunday, April 12.
She urged the public to follow the enhanced community quarantine guidelines, to stay inside their homes, ensure physical distancing, and to follow proper handwashing and cough etiquette to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier extended the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon until April 30 as the local transmission of cases continued in the country.
(Eagle News Service)
