MANILA, Philippines – The number of people in the Philippine capital of Manila infected with the coronavirus jumped to 30 from 13 in a single day, Mayor Isko Moreno announced on Tuesday evening, March 24.

In his daily Facebook live broadcast, Moreno said 2 of the patients are staying in the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center at the Sta Ana Hospital, while the 15 others are confined in different private hospitals in the city.

Cases of persons under investigation, meanwhile, increased to 89 from 76 the previous day. Moreno also announced the recovery of one patient, who has been anonymized as patient PH67.

“Ang dahilan po nito ay yung mga nangyari pa lang sa mga nagdaang linggo. Ngayon po natin nararamdaman ang bigat ng problema sa ating kalaban na si COVID-19 (This happened because of what happened in the past week. We are feeling the weight of the problem of our enemy which is COVID-19 now),” Moreno said.

Moreno said they still have monitored parties being held in the city of 1.8 million people. The mayor urged those who plan more public gatherings to cancel their engagements to prevent the risk of further spreading the virus. (READ: Call it ‘physical distancing,’ not ‘social distancing,’ says WHO)

“May pag-asa. Kailangan lang natin sumunod sa mga alituntunin nating pinatutupad (There is hope. We just need to follow the rules we are enforcing),” Moreno said.

Moreno’s announcement comes a week since President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire island region of Luzon on lockdown or “enhanced community quarantine”, which has restricted travel and ordered people to stay in their homes unless they need to procure needs.

As of March 24, the Philippines has confirmed a total of 552 coronavirus cases. The total number of deaths is now 35, while recoveries recorded are 20. – Rappler.com