PH coronavirus watch: Suspected cases per region, as of February 18, 2020

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is ramping up its probe of people with symptoms of respiratory illness, in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

As of Tuesday, February 18, the Department of Health (DOH) said it has probed 527 patients. There is still no recorded local transmission in the country.

Out of this number:

• 137 – admitted in hospitals
• 387 – discharged from hospitals
• 3 – confirmed cases

Of the 3 confirmed cases in the Philippines, one died due to severe pneumonia because of novel coronavirus, while the other two have since recovered and are already out of the hospital.

Below is the latest breakdown of the persons under investigation per region. All numbers are from the DOH’s nCov tracker.

There are at least 36 Filipinos confirmed to have the virus, but all are based outside the Philippines, including one in the United Arab Emirates and 35 who were aboard a cruise ship quarantined in Japan.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak an international emergency, warning that the novel coronavirus poses a “very grave threat.”

So far, the virus has killed more than 1,800 and infected over 72,300 people in China. Cases have been recorded in more than two dozen countries. – Rappler.com