ABS-CBN NEWS:
Nineteen more people have been infected with influenza A(H1N1) virus, bringing to 111 the total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.
The DOH said 11 of the new cases are males and eight are female. A total of 38 infected patients have been discharged, it added.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque had admitted that the DOH would not be able to contain the virus anymore.
Duque said that the government has shifted from containment to mitigation strategy.
“With mitigation, the government will be recommending to affected areas with community level transmission to now focus on taking care of the sick, providing guidance for people to protect themselves and their families and monitoring the outbreak,” the health secretary said.
The DOH has maintained that there is still no “community-level transmission” of the virus in the country.
At least four tertiary level schools -- De la Salle University, Colleged of St. Benilde, Far Eastern University-East Asia College, and St. Andrew’s School – have students infected with the new virus.
The Ateneo High School has three confirmed cases and the Helera Elementary School in Nueva Ecija has one.
Classes at the Doña Candelaria Meneses Duque High School in Bulacan town, Bulacan province have been suspended after several students exhibited flu-like symptoms.
The flu-like illness started from one section of the school's second year level. The illness reportedly spread to other year levels, prompting the school's management to call the DOH's attention.
Throat swab samples taken from the students have been brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine office in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The entire school has been "disinfected."
Dr. Rio Magpantay, director of the Department of Health in Central Luzon, said 10 more children in Barangay (village) Hilera in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, had tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus and that this brought to 11 the confirmed cases in the town.
ReplyDeleteIn Manila, the DoH’s chief epidemiologist Dr. Eric Tayag said the report he had was there were already 12 confirmed cases in Jaen. This included 11 confirmed cases in Jaen Friday (compared to Magpantay’s 10) and one previously reported on Thursday.