Philippines Declares 'COVID-19 Emergency,' Adds 10 New Cases in One Day

Passengers wearing masks on a Philippine bus.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] On the 9th, 10 new cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were confirmed in the Philippines. The Philippine government declared a public health emergency as the total number of confirmed cases doubled to 20 in just one day.

According to local media such as the daily Philippine Star, the Philippine Department of Health announced that 10 additional COVID-19 cases were confirmed on that day, bringing the total to 20. Rosario Vergeire, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health, explained, "The rapid increase in confirmed cases is due to community transmission."

The authorities stated that they plan to identify the residences and locations of the confirmed cases and trace contacts through epidemiological investigations. Prior to this, on the night of the 8th (local time), it was disclosed that two Filipino nationals and two foreigners were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared a public health emergency on the same day and ordered all related authorities to respond with full force. The Philippines recorded its first COVID-19 death outside China on the 2nd of last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.