MANILA, Philippines (March 9, 2020 9:30 P.M. update) – After the former report about the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the country, which record shows 10 confirmed cases in the past two days but recently, it becomes doubled in number on Monday afternoon based on the latest record of the Department of Health (DOH).

Health Assistant Secretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire told reporter that the information of the 11-20 coronavirus cases is still gathered.

In her statement, Vergeire revealed the cause of the sudden spike of coronavirus cases in the country, and this is due to a newly-declared localized transmission.

Vergeire also said that the health department is still in the process of knowing how the new cases were “epidemiologically linked” to a previous confirmed patients.

According to the similar report published by the Philstar.com the DOH received the new confirmed results on Monday before the lunch time and the department immediately took action of contact tracing on the new cases.

Vergeire also said that the Case #5 is the bases for the Department of Health to declare “localized transmission” based on their record.

“Case #5 is the very reason we called it localized transmission,” Vergeire said. 

The new found coronavirus cases is the result of a more stringent surveillance of the contact tracing conducted by the health department.

“Yung biglang pagdami ng kaso ay dahil sa maigting na surveillance na ginagawa natin ngayon… if you may observe, some of these cases had histories of travel,” she said.

However, the DOH was careful in terms of declaring “community-based transmission” because according to the health department the “community-based transmission” is hoisted when a person who has been diagnosed with disease even if the victim is not in a high-risk area to have been in contact with any other confirmed cases.

“The mean determinant para masabing may community transmission ka kapag ang mga kaso mo ay hindi na linked to each other,” the DOH official added.  

Here is the summary update of 20 coronavirus cases in the Philippines, including the gender and the hospital in the list.

The World Health Organization reminds everyone about the importance of the proper hygiene to fight against the corovirus infection.