The Department of Health confirmed Wednesday that 252 health workers in the country have contracted the coronavirus disease — including 152 doctors, 63 nurses, and other frontliners.
This developed as the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,870, with 106 new cases and five deaths posted Wednesday, bringing the total toll in the country to 182.
Still, 12 new recoveries were listed today, bringing total recoveries from the disease to 96, the DOH announced in a televised briefing.
The department did not name other health professionals that were included in the COVID-positive count, which is the first time it released data on the number of infected health workers.
The DOH recently included medical personnel with COVID-19 symptoms in the list of high-risk people who should get tested.
The Philippine Medical Association has said that as of Tuesday, 17 doctors have died locally in fighting the disease that has become a global pandemic.
Meanwhile, the number of Filipinos abroad who have tested positive for the coronavirus disease has climbed to 594 with 25 new cases, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.
The DFA observed that the latest tally of new cases across the Americas, Asia, Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East or Africa has gone down in comparison to previous data.
"Today’s update on COVID-19 cases among our [overseas Filipinos] shows a reduced number of cases compared to yesterday's figures across 37 countries/regions," the department said in a Facebook post.
The DFA also reported six new recoveries, bringing the total tally to 164, and three new fatalities, for a total of 68, in the Americas and Europe.
The number of patients undergoing treatment also rose to 362.