By Betheena Unite The tests of more than 100 persons turned out positive for COVID-19 Monday, bringing the total cases in the Philippines to 1,546, while the number of deaths is now at 78, the Department of Health said. A total of 128 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed while recoveries remained at 42, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing. According to the latest data from the department, four of the seven deaths recorded Monday were among the new confirmed cases on the same day. They were patients 1488, 1447, 1446, 1489. Patients 149, 587, 647 succumbed to the disease Monday. Patient 149 was a 61-year-old Filipino female from Makati City who had no travel and exposure history. She was confirmed positive for the disease on March 16 and died March 27 due to acute respiratory failure secondary to community-acquire pneumonia secondary to COVID-19. She also had hypertension. Patient 587 was a 79-year-old Filipino male from Muntinlupa City who had no travel history. He was confirmed positive on March 24 and died March 29 due to acute respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia COVID-19. Patient 647 was a 43-year-old Filipino male from Parañaque City who had no travel and exposure history. He tested positive for COVID-19 on March 25 and died two days later due to acute respiratory failure secondary to pneumonia COVID-19 and myocardial dysfunction. Patient 1488 was a 60-year-old male from Muntinlupa City whose nationality is still for validation. He had unknown travel and exposure history. He was confirmed positive on March 25 and died a day later due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, and COVID-19. Patient 1447 was a 45-year-old Filipino male from Davao City with unknown travel and exposure history. He died on March 23 but was only confirmed positive on March 29. He succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest, acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to community-acquired pneumonia high risk, and hypoxia. Patient 1446 was a 59-year-old Filipino male from Davao City with no travel history. He died on March 23 but was only confirmed positive for COVID-19 on March 29. His death was due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to community-acquired pneumonia high risk and hypoxia. He also had cardiac disease. Patient 1489 was a 74-year-old Filipino male from Quezon City with unknown travel and exposure history. He died on March 21 but was only confirmed positive on March 27. He died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to pneumonia. He had hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The DOH on Monday attributed the growing cases of COVID-19 to the availability of more test kits and sub-national laboratories in the country. The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) said that from 300 sample testing capacity per day, they can now process 900 to 1,000 samples per day. Meanwhile, Vergeire also said the department has acquired one million personal protective equipment (PPEs) for health workers amounting to P1.8 billion. The department is now waiting for their delivery, she added. While the DOH will prioritize heath workers in public hospitals, they will also provide PPEs for other public and private hospitals in the country that are in need of such medical supplies. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t0a3i