By Marjaleen Ramos and Analou de Vera
The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday confirmed the death of another patient due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The patient, PH40, is a 54-year old male from Lanao del Sur, who died from acute respiratory distress syndrome due to severe pneumonia with concomitant acute kidney injury, DOH said in a statement.
He was admitted at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro last March 3.
The patient showed symptoms of respiratory illness on February 24 and was tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country to six.
To note, the country recorded its first coronavirus-related death last February 1 in the person of a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan, China.
The DOH urged elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions to be extra cautious.
“We further urge those who are immunocompromised and are with existing health conditions to be more vigilant and avoid crowded areas and mass gatherings,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III recently.
"We reiterate that the best way to protect yourself from the disease is to keep yourself healthy and practice general preventive measures--proper handwashing, cough etiquette, and social distancing," he added.
World Health Organization Country Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe previously said that the “disease so far indicates that largely it’s a mild disease---- about 81 percent will have mild disease----many of them could be managed as outpatients. But, 14 percent will develop severe disease and five percent will progress to critical, meaning they will need intensive care facilities.”