Almost 100 kids catch COVID-19 at Manila orphanage

As COVID-19 patients fill Philippine hospitals to the brim, officials say the virus has hit an orphanage and infected almost 100 children.

Of the 122 people infected, 99 are age 18 and younger while the rest are personnel of the facility, Quezon City Mayor said in a statement. He said the virus apparently spread when an adult who was infected but didn't have symptoms visited the orphanage in the city in metropolitan Manila.

But the orphanage, Gentle Hands Inc, said in a statement that it had not had any visitors and the source of the virus is still being traced. It said the patients have varying degrees of symptoms and are being managed by doctors.  No one is suffering from respiratory distress, it said. The Philippines reported 17,883 new cases and 174 deaths on Wednesday and has confirmed over 2.1 million cases with 34,672 deaths.