PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) was the third-leading causes of death in the Philippines in the 10 months to October, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Registered deaths due to COVID-19 totaled 75,285 or 12.5% of all deaths tallied (604,329) during the period. The two leading causes of death were ischaemic heart diseases (110,332) and cerebrovascular diseases (58,880).

Deaths associated with COVID-19 are classified into those with the virus identified and not identified at the time of death.

COVID-19 with virus identified tallied 51,514 deaths or 8.5% of total deaths. Taken by itself, this category would be the seventh leading cause of death during the period.

Some 23,771 deaths due to COVID-19 fell into the “virus not identified” category — 3.9% of total deaths, or eighth overall.

According to the PSA, data on COVID-19 deaths were based on death certificates received and certified by health officers of local government units.

This is a departure from the data collected by the Department of Health, which maintains a separate COVID-19 tracking system and only counts confirmed cases. — Abigail Marie P. Yraola