Coronavirus cases in the Philippines surpassed 65,000 on Saturday as the Department of Health (DOH) reported an increase of 2,357 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.
This brings the total to 65,304 cases and 1,773 dead from the pandemic since the lockdown in mid-March after 113 additional fatalities.
“As of 4pm today, July 18, 2020, the Department of Health reports the total number of COVID-19 cases at 65,304,” said DOH COVID-19 Case Bulletin #126.
The five areas with the highest number of new cases are the National Capital Region with 1,1824, Laguna with 105, Cavite with 62, Cebu with 49, and Rizal with 39.
A total 2,357 confirmed cases are reported based on the total tests done by 76 out of 84 current operational labs, the DOH said.
DOH also announced 321 recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 22,067.
“Of the 113 deaths, 40 (35 percent) in July, 58 (51 percent) in June, and 15 (13 percent) in May. Deaths were from Region 7 (87 or 77 percent), NCR (23 or 20 percent), Region 4A (1 or 1 percent), Region 5 (1 or 1 percent), and Region 6 (1 or 1 percent),” said the DOH.
“Fifty-four duplicates were removed from total case count. Of these, two duplicates previously reported as recovered have been removed from the total count of recoveries after final verification,” the DOH said.
“The total cases reported may be subject to change as these numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation,” the DOH said.
The DOH at the same time said getting tested for COVID-19 was not an “immunity passport,” and the best way to avoid getting COVID-19 was to adhere to preventive measures.
“We are still reminding the general public that prevention is still the best, and testing is not an immunity passport,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing after being asked that some cities have opened drive-through testing sites to combat the spread of COVID-19.
“If you have been infected with COVID, and you recovered, the chances of you getting the virus again would be still there,” Vergeire said.
Preventive measures include frequent hand washing, wearing of face masks in public and physical distancing.
Meanwhile, Vergeire said Filipinos would have to align their behavior to the new normal if the country wanted to succeed in stemming the spread of COVID-19.
“In our battle against the pandemic, behavior would be very, very critical,” Vergeire said.
The same point had been made by testing czar Vince Dizon on Thursday as he stressed that discipline was the common denominator among countries such as South Korea and Taiwan.
If all minimum health standards such as the proper wearing of face masks, social distancing, and regular handwashing would be followed, the risk of getting COVID-19 would significantly be reduced, he said.
At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration is discouraging the use of masks with exhalation valves as the protection it provides is only “one-way” or only for the wearer.
“The truth is many of the masks with valves are not registered for medical purposes,” FDA Director General and Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said in an interview on Dobol sa News TV on Saturday.
Domingo noted that cloth masks were much better than masks with valves in terms of providing “two-way” protection, meaning the wearer and the people nearby are both protected.
The FDA has advised hospitals to prohibit entry of people wearing masks with valves as well as those who are not wearing their masks properly.
The FDA is also looking at issuing an advisory to other establishments such as malls and restaurants about the risks of wearing masks with valves, Domingo added.
Meanwhile, ten members of Senator Richard Gordon’s “immediate” staff at the Senate and the Philippine Red Cross tested positive for COVID-19, prompting him to get tested as well.
In a statement, Gordon said he, his wife, and their household staff all tested negative, but have decided to go into a self-imposed home isolation.
As for his infected staff members — who all tested positive following the PRC’s routine testing — Gordon said they were now in quarantine and contact tracing had been conducted.
“I am sharing this information with the public in the interest of transparency and so that all potentially affected persons may be attended to,” said Gordon, who also chairs the Philippine Red Cross.
The legislator said the nature of their job at the PRC — which includes relief missions and supervision of COVID-19 initiatives — puts them at risk of contracting many illnesses.
In a related development, leading COVID-19 firm LabX Corp. has refuted the claims of Philippines’ FDA that antigen test had low sensitivity rate.
In a television interview yesterday, LabX Corp. CEO Thomas Navasero said antigen test had 93.8 percent sensitivity rate, contrary to PH FDA’s claim that antigen tests had only 30 to 80 percent sensitivity rate in identifying the presence of COVID-19 virus.
“Sensitivity in antigen tests measures the false negative test results for the virus. Antigen tests have a sensitivity rate of around 93 percent contrary to the claim of Philippine Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo that antigen tests have only 34 to 80 percent sensitivity rate,” Navasero said.
“In the last four to six months, technology and research have improved the sensitivity of antigen testing. The 93.8 percent is probably the highest sensitivity in the world,” Navasero added.
The LabX founder pointed out that the U.S. and many European countries were using antigen tests as the main COVID-19 testing method, along with the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests.
Navasero mentioned that both RT-PCR and antigen tests could identify the protein of the coronavirus, resulting in higher chances of detecting the virus’ presence in a patient.
Navasero hoped that antigen tests could also be recognized as the gold standard for COVID-19 testing, as it could detect the presence of virus in just 15 minutes.
READ: Steady spike in virus cases very alarming, ex-Palace adviser says