Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 17) — Two more COVID-19 patients died in the country, while 45 new cases are confirmed, the Health department said Tuesday.

This brings the death toll from the virus to 14, while the total number of infections has risen to 187.

The new fatalities were Filipino males and hypertensive. One of them, a 76-year-old man, also had Type 2 diabetes.

The man was admitted at the Adventist Medical Center in Manila on March 9 and was tested positive for COVID-19 on March 15.

The other fatality, a 67-year-old man, tested positive for the disease on the same day and died at the Lung Center of the Philippines.

The Department of Health also reported that a fourth patient has recovered from the highly contagious disease.

In its 4 p.m. bulletin, the DOH said a 31-year-old Filipino man from Negros Oriental – one of the Filipinos evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan – will soon be discharged.

The patient had tested negative for COVID-19 twice, according to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in Pampanga, the referral facility for the evacuees who were quarantined at New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

Worldwide, COVID-19 has killed more than 7,100 people, mostly in China, since the outbreak began in Wuhan City in December last year. Over 182,000 people have been infected, according to the Johns Hopkins University's COVID-19 global tracker.

According to the World Health Organization, the most commonly reported symptoms are fever, dry cough and shortness of breath. The WHO said eight in ten, or around 80 percent, of infected patients experience "mild illness" and eventually recover from COVID-19. Some 14 percent experience severe illness while 5 percent were critically ill, the WHO said.

To prevent infection, authorities are urging people to practice regular hand washing, cover the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and avoid close contact with those who exhibit virus symptoms.