Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III has made rounds in some referral hospitals and other facilities for COVID-19 treatment on Thursday.
Aside from ensuring the readiness of hospitals, the inspection also intended to boost the morale of health workers who are serving as frontliners of the country in fighting COVID-19.
Duque first visited Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium in Caloocan, as well as Quezon Institute which is set to open as a community quarantine facility on April 6 to house symptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases and PUIs with mild symptoms.
Sec.Duque also visited Lung Center of the Philippines which is a referral hospital and a subnational laboratory that can test COVID-19 samples. There are 21 COVID-19 cases and 29 PUIs at the Lung Center while there are 14 cases and 13 PUIs in Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital.
Based on the latest data of the DOH, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country has climbed to 2,633 as 322 confirmed cases were added. The number of fatalities has also reached 107 and recoveries are at 51.
“The increase in the number of confirmed cases every day is the effect of our increasing laboratory capacity, o yung (or the) artificial increase kung tawagin. Pero tinitingan pa rin natin kung dumarami ba ang mga kaso base sa simulan ng sintomas, simula nung ipatupad ang enhanced community quarantine (But we are looking into the increase of cases based on the onset of symptoms since the enhanced community quarantine was implemented),” Duque said.
Duque reiterated the importance of staying home, and reminded the public to drink plenty of water and avoid smoking.
Meanwhile, the health department has announced the Philippines has joined the solidarity trial conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to expand research of various countries on the COVID-19 cure. – Report from Mark Fetalco
