Quezon confirms first coronavirus infection

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The province of Quezon confirmed its first case of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sunday evening, March 15. 

The Quezon Public Information Office made the announcement in a Facebook post past 7 pm Sunday. Aside from the confirmed case, the province also reported that 7 people tested negative for the disease. 

The province also announced the following figures:

• confirmed cases: 1
• total patients under investigation: 21
• admitted to hospitals: 7
• discharged from hospitals: 5
• under home quarantine
• cleared: 2
• ongoing: 5
• total patients under monitoring: 4,944
• under 14-day home quarantine
• ongoing: 4,854
• completed: 90

The post included one death in its figures. According to a separate post on Quezon Governor Danilo Suarez’s Facebook page, the person who died is not the same person as the confirmed case but a person under investigation who died of pneumonia. 

It was not clear whether the case was among the 140 confirmed and announced by the Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday evening. 

Of the 140 confirmed cases in the Philippines, 122 are currently admitted to hospitals, 5 are under home quarantine, 2 have recovered, and 11 have died. 

Metro Manila is currently under a monthlong lockdown due to the coronavirus threat. The lockdown started Sunday early morning and will last until April 14. 

President Rodrigo Duterte had declared a state of public health emergency on March 9, after confirmed cases of the novel coroanvirus began spiking on March 8. 

The global death toll due to the coronavirus has reached 5,796, with 3,199 of the fatalities in China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The number of cases worldwide has risen to 154,620 with 80,844 of the infections in China . The virus has spread to at least 139 countries. – with a report from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com