163 more test positive for Covid-19: DOH

The DOH also reported 92 new recoveries and 11 new deaths, raising the total to 3,092 and 857, respectively. (Pexels photo)

MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said 163 more patients tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), increasing the tally to 13,597.

At least 91 came from Metro Manila, 56 from Central Visayas, and 16 from other regions.

The DOH also reported 92 new recoveries and 11 new deaths, raising the total to 3,092 and 857, respectively.

The active cases at present stand at 9,648.

In a virtual presser, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 2,336 healthcare workers have been infected by the virus as of May 21, at least 1,086 of whom have recovered while 31 died.

Of the 1,219 active cases among healthcare workers, none are critical but there two in severe condition, 895 with mild symptoms, and 322 asymptomatic.

She also noted 97 confirmed Covid-19 cases among foreigners in the Philippines, 32 of whom are Chinese, 13 Americans, five Japanese, four Taiwanese, four Indians, and 39 are other nationalities.

A total of 60 foreigners are admitted to hospitals, 21 have recovered while eight died of the disease.

Based on the latest data from DOH’s Covid-19 tracker, 207,823 persons have been tested, 16,822 turned out positive, 171,202 negative, 103 equivocal, and 489 invalids.

Vergeire said that the discrepancy in confirmed cases from the positive ones is due to validation issues.

“As we test more, we also get more positive results. This means that there are more cases that needed to be validated by our Epidemiology Bureau,” she said.

Another issue is the lack of disease surveillance officers (DSOs) who monitor cases, encode case investigation forms (CIFs), and upload the data into information systems.

“Most of the time, the CIFs they get are incomplete that they need to contact the patients individually or the hospitals and testing laboratories,” she said.

On bed capacity, the Philippines currently have 13,324 allotted for Covid-19 patients, 70.3 percent are isolation beds, 20 percent are ward beds, and 9.7 percent are intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

Meanwhile, at least 1,607 mechanical ventilators for Covid-19 cases are still available.