MANILA, Philippines — The case fatality rate for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines is at 6.6 percent, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Thursday.

During the technical working group (TWG) meeting of the House’s Defeat COVID-19 Committee (DCC) health subcommittee, Health Undersecretary Lilibeth David said that as of April 15, there are 5,453 confirmed cases in the country.

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As of April 15, 349 in the country have died of the disease, with a case fatality rate of 6.6 percent, said David.

According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, the case fatality rate is calculated by “dividing the number of deaths from a specified disease over a defined period of time by the number of individuals diagnosed with the disease during that time; the resulting ratio is then multiplied by 100 to yield a percentage.”

“If we look at the graph, it really shows that most of our confirmed cases and admitted cases are those in the working-age group and older—20 years and above. But if we look at our deaths, its really the older persons group at 50 years old and older,” David said.

Other countries with high case fatality rates include Italy at 12.9 percent, Spain at 10.5 percent, and Indonesia at 9.4 percent. The global case fatality rate is at 6.4 percent, David said.

Citing the World Health Organization (WHO), David said that there are more than 1.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Countries with the most number of cases include the United States, Italy, Spain, and China.

“The Philippines’ standing globally in the confirmed cases is a contribution of 0.28 percent of cases and 0.28 percent in confirmed deaths,” David said.

Likewise, the Philippines has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia.

In terms of testing, David said there are 16 certified testing laboratories.

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As of April 15, a total of 42,215 patients have been tested, with a minimum daily testing capacity of 1,164 and a maximum of 3,408.

David said their current target is at 8,000 tests per day.

/MUF

For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.

What you need to know about Coronavirus.

For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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