61 percent of COVID-19 deaths in PH are male — WHO

by Cathrine Gonzales, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 16 Sep 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Sixty-one percent of deaths in the Philippines because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are male, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.

“Out of 4,663 confirmed deaths, 61 percent (over 2,800) are male, with the most affected age group aged 60-69 (33 percent), followed by over 70 (28 percent),” WHO said in its situation report, quoting data from the Department of Health as of Tuesday afternoon.

DOH has so far reported a total of 269,407 confirmed cases of COVID-19, composed of 57,392 active cases, 207,352 recoveries, and 4,663 deaths.

According to WHO, of the confirmed cases, 56 percent (over 150,000 cases) are male, with those aged 20 to 29 years old as the most affected age group at 26 percent (over 70,000 cases), followed by those aged 30 to 39 years old at 24 percent (over 64,000 cases).

Fifty-four percent (144,874 cases) of the reported cases were from Metro Manila, followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) at 16 percent (44,206), Central Visayas at 8 percent (20,914), and Central Luzon at 4.5 percent (12,300).

Some 49 percent (2,298 cases) of deaths were from Metro Manila, 25 percent (1,181) were from Central Visayas, 10 percent were from Calabarzon (462), and 3.5 percent (166) were from Central Luzon.

“The Department of Health and WHO emphasize the need for compliance to, and proper implementation of, national guidelines at LGU level,” the situation report read.

In Metro Manila, out of 180 health facilities, 61.3 percent of dedicated COVID-19 beds are occupied. In Calabarzon, 263 health facilities report a 56.6 percent occupancy rate of dedicated COVID-19 beds, according to WHO.

Currently, 93 laboratories using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and 29 laboratories using GeneXpert are accredited for COVID-19 testing. Another 101 applications from laboratories are in various stages of accreditation.

/MUF