MANILA, Philippines — The number of individuals in the Philippines being monitored for possible novel coronavirus has risen to 105, latest figure from the Department of Health showed.
As of noon Tuesday, 90 patients under investigation remain admitted in hospitals, while 12 have already been discharged but under strict monitoring.
Related Stories
The two confirmed cases—one of whom died Saturday—and the Chinese man who tested negative for nCoV but died of pneumonia complete the tally of 105.
The PUIs are in the following regions:
- 1 in Cordillera Administrative Region
- 1 in Cagayan Valley
- 3 in Ilocos Region
- 16 in Central Luzon
- 36 in National Capital Region (including 2 confirmed cases)
- 4 in Calabarzon
- 4 in Mimaropa
- 3 in Eastern Visayas
- 10 in Western Visayas
- 16 in Central Visayas
- 5 in Northern Mindanao
- 6 in Davao
DOH said the “substantial” increase in the number of PUIs is due to the “strengthened surveillance system and contact tracing of the Epidemiology Bureau and the expansion of PUI category coverage to the whole of China.”
On Monday, the agency recorded 80 persons under investigation.
The number of people confirmed to have been infected by the SARS-like illness stood at 17,391 as of Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization. The virus has spread to more than 20 nations.
The death toll from the novel coronavirus in China soared past 360, exceeding the 349 mainland fatalities from the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003. — Gaea Katreena Cabico