A leading pediatrician and the sister of TV host Ruby Rodriguez is the 9th Filipino doctor who died of pandemic COVID-19, Thursday.
Ruby Rodriguez confirmed in an Instagram post that her sister, Dr. Sally Gatchalian, who battled the deadly virus, has passed away.
“Say hi to Mom, Dad, and Manong Robert. Be at peace, do not worry about us anymore. Have fun in heaven!” Rodriguez wrote.
Dr. Gatchalian was the president of the Philippine Pediatric Society and an assistant director at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines president, Dr. Rustico Jiimenez, told ABS-CBN News that the doctor tested positive of the virus.
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Pediatrician, sister of Ruby Rodriguez is the 9th Filipino doctor died of COVID-19
On March 23, Ruby slammed those who are spreading fake news that her sister already died of the virus.
“I have been quiet all this time about Dr. Sally Gatchalian status. Yes she is my sister. Yes she is confined. Yes we all are praying and scared,” Ruby wrote.
“But when Fake News spreads and people texting me Condolences. I Ask Please She is fighting! She is weak but stable. Please,” she added.
Gatchalian is the 9th Filipino doctor to pass away from the pandemic, Jimenez was quoted as saying in a media report.
Among the doctors who also got infected and died of serving the country were cardiologists Greg Macasaet and Israel Bactol, anesthesiologist Gregory Macasaet, Pampanga provincial health chief Marcelo Jaochico, and Pangasinan’s Dr. Henry Fernandez.
Frontliners continue to appeal to the public to stay home and prevent the virus from spreading so they too could go back to their families.
The Philippines has 636 cases of COVID-19, with 38 deaths and 26 recoveries as of yesterday.