Philippines' death rate from coronavirus one of world's highest

March 18 (UPI) -- The Philippines is reporting one of the highest death rates for the coronavirus pandemic that has swept across the globe.

Manila's health ministry confirmed 15 additional cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths on Wednesday, bringing the country's totals to 202 confirmed cases and 17 deaths, according to Rappler and local news service ABS-CBN.

The Philippines' death rate of 8.4 percent is higher than Italy at 7.9 percent and the United States at 1.6 percent.

The three Filipino nationals who died Wednesday were in their 50s or older. One patient, a 58-year-old Filipino man, had recently traveled to Malaysia. He was hospitalized on March 10 and died seven days later due to acute respiratory distress syndrome; he also had diabetes. ARDS occurs in severe cases of COVID-19, reports say.

A second patient who died Wednesday had also returned from a trip abroad, to London. He was also hospitalized on March 10 and confirmed for the coronavirus on Friday. The patient had underlying chronic conditions.

The third patient, an 86-year-old Filipino woman who tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, had no travel history. The patient died due to "septic shock second to pneumonia-high risk secondary to COVID-19," Philippine health authorities said.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of calamity this week and has placed the island of Luzon under lockdown from Tuesday to April 12. Luzon is one of the most densely populated regions of the country.

Some policies have disrupted city life. A ban on public transportation that came only a few hours after a warning led to chaos in Manila. Footage from the country's capital shows workers stranded at checkpoints and commuters struggling to climb crowded trucks following the ban, according to The Guardian.

On Tuesday, foreigners were given a 72-hour window to leave the country; no Filipinos will be allowed to leave the country, Manila's department of transportation said.