The Department of Health (DOH) today confirmed 16 new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, bringing the total number of cases recorded in the country to 49.
As of press time, the DOH had yet to reveal details about the new patients, such as their travel histories or the hospitals where they are being treated.
Meanwhile, in a press conference today, DOH Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire dismissed rumors that the government is planning to lock down Metro Manila, where most of the COVID-19 patients live.
“There’s no truth to that [lockdown talk]. That is fake news. A lockdown, that’s a strategy for Code Red, Sub-level 2. We’re not yet in that state to talk about a lockdown,” she said.
Vergeire added that out of the active confirmed cases, three patients are in critical condition, while the rest are stable.
The DOH has already declared Code Red, Sub-level 1, which signifies at least one confirmed local transmission. Sub-Level 2 indicates the continuous transmission of the disease. Should a lockdown ultimately prove necessary, the Philippine National Police have said that they can dispatch as many as 40,000 cops to enforce it.
