THE Philippine National Police yesterday recorded its 53rd and 54th COVID-19 fatalities: a 54-year- old Police Commissioned Officer from the PNP Maritime Group and a 45-year-old non-commissioned officer from the Valenzuela City Police Station.

According to PNP chief General Debold M. Sinas, the 53rd fatality passed away on Saturday after a bout with the deadly virus.

The officer was hospitalized last April 14 after testing positive for the virus. He underwent hemoperfusion procedure to cleanse his blood and to prevent aggravating his condition.

From April 21-23, he was scheduled to undergo hemodialysis but the medical procedure did not materialize due to his unstable blood pressure and low oxygen level.

On the other hand, the 54th fatality died on Saturday evening at the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City.

The policeman last April 16 complained of having fever and cough and was found to be suffering from pneumonia when subjected to an x-ray procedure.

He was advised to undergo an RT-PCR test and isolate himself by an attending physician. The following day, he was found positive for COVID-19 and was taken to the Caloocan City hospital due to difficulty in breathing.

The policeman who was also found to be hypertensive and diabetic died of cardiac arrest secondary to COVID-19.

“The entire PNP would like to extend our condolences to the bereaved families of the two deceased policemen and assure them of financial assistance and benefits,” Gen. Sinas said as he again reminded his men to double their protection against the virus.

“If you are not feeling well, immediately seek medical attention. Avail of the free consultation we are offering,” the PNP chief said.

PNP Deputy Chief for Administration and concurrent Administrative Support for COVID-19 Task Force commander, Lieutenant General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar

said that as of Saturday, they have already recorded a total of 19,536 COVID-19 cases in the police force since March last year although 17,418 of the patients have already fully recovered from the disease and are now back to full duty status.

The official said that the PNP Health Service headed by Brigadier Gen. Luisito P. Magnaye is also monitoring 2,065 ‘active cases’ in the force.

Last Saturday, another 138 new cases and three cases of reinfection were reported in the PNP.